


The Four Horsemen

by TheSexyMuggleLibrarian (Lexi_the_dragon_muse)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-23
Updated: 2013-06-19
Packaged: 2017-12-12 17:13:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 111,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/814005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexi_the_dragon_muse/pseuds/TheSexyMuggleLibrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Blood of my Blood, Power of my Power; through space and time, Evil cowers." The war with Voldemort has ended and wizards are getting on with their lives, but happens when an ancient evil rears its ugly head? Who will save the world?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, locations or prior storylines associated with it. That is all the intellectual property of the wonderful JK Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended, nor am I making any money from this story. I am just playing in her world.
> 
> Author’s Note: Okay. So this story came to me and it won’t go away, so I am writing it down. This is just the prelude that is going to set up some of the story line. One thing that I do want to mention (so I don’t get any flames on this); I know that Ginny’s birthday is August 11. I had to use some creative license (which will be explained later on) to change her birthday to July 11. Please, please, review and let me know what you think! If anyone wants to make any art for this story (to put in the image section) feel free! Just let me know because I would love to have a picture to go along with this!!

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

 

_5 th Century A.D._

 

The old man watched in his scrying pool as the four beasts cut a swath across the land.  The white horse spread disease; the red, war; the black, hunger; and the pale green, death.  He shook his head, knowing that his power was waning, like the moon.  He had neither strength nor power to defeat them.  At best, he could only hope to contain them until a match to their strength was born. 

 

Quickly he gathered his herbs, separating them into two caldrons, carefully measuring them.  Then he began chanting in the language that was second nature to him, adding the various herbs to the bubbling concoction, turning it from a sickly yellow to a vibrant royal blue in a matter of moments.  As he threw in the last herb, belladonna, the potion let off a puff of violet smoke and the four beasts in pool disappeared.

 

Sagging, the man propped himself up with his staff.  He indulged in a small smile before beginning the second spell, this time chanting in the common language of the traders.  “Blood of my Blood, Power of my Power; through space and time, Evil cowers.  Earth and Air, Fire and Water, soul bound by love and light; Evil once Vanquished, resumes its fight.  As the Four Beasts rise, the Elements will See; As I will it, so mote it be.”

 

With one last burst of power, the second caldron burst into flames as the old man began to crumble towards the floor.  But he never touched it; he disappeared before reaching the marble.

 

~ **H~P~**

 

_31 October 1999_

 

The young man was going through yet another box of dusty books.  All of the possessions left by his mother’s ailing husband.  She had chosen him not for money, for they had plenty, nor for looks, for he looked like a wizened gnome, but for love.  Even though he was not his natural father, the two men had formed a close bond.  The man’s health had never been that strong, and with the stress that the Second War had borne, the man had lost his battle with a bad heart.  _Ironic,_ the man thought, as his lips turned into a scowl.  _A stepfather that I actually like and he’s dead after two years._  

 

Shrugging his shoulders in acceptance, he began to look at the musty books.  At the bottom of the box, his collector’s instinct was aroused by the feel of the last book.  He withdrew it from the box, instinct telling him that it was very old and of immense value.  He handled it carefully before realizing that it was protected by spells to keep it from fading or reacting to fire or temperature. 

 

The covering was leather laid over what felt like wooden boards and the inside was beautifully inscribed vellum.  He stared that the pages, trying to make out what language it was in, until he finally recognized a word.  Heofonum.  West Saxon for heaven.  Having that as a basis, the man smiled as he realized that he could translate the text from the Old English to modern English with ease.  With a wave of his wand, he made room on the bookcases for the new books and settled into his leather sofa, already engrossed in his new project.

 

Nine hours later, the man laid the book to the side as an evil smirk crossed his handsome face.  He now knew the secret of a power so great it would make man and wizards tremble beneath him.  He could complete the plan of his master.  He could rule the world.  An evil chuckle rang through the empty room, striking fear in the hearts of the House Elves that heard it.

 

**~H~P~**

 


	2. Unexpected Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected attack brings together old friends and enemies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is posted a ff.net under the same penname. The story is complete in 34 chapter and up to chapter 22 is posted there. Once I get up to where I have posted on ff.net, then I will update both sites simultaneously.

_1 October 2002_

 

Draco Malfoy looked at the small assembly of people gathered at his quaint cottage in Rickmansworth, north of London.  As he glanced around the modest size living area, he wondered what the majority of his Slytherin classmates would think if they saw it.  It was far from the ostentatious halls of Malfoy Manor.  The cottage was a small, only three bedrooms, a living area, the kitchen and a small library.  It wasn’t much, but it was his.  He had furnished it himself, without the help of an interior designer much to his mother’s dismay.  The effect was something that was warm and inviting, a sharp contrast to the coldness of the Manor.

 

He glanced at his mother and father, who were sitting side-by-side on the black leather sofa.  Narcissa looked as relaxed and happy as he had ever seen her as she chatted with Mrs. Zabini.  The aftereffects of the Second War had completely changed his father as well.  Lucius was the complete opposite of the man that Draco had grown up with.  The lines around his face were those of happiness, not anger any longer.

 

Draco knew the reason for their change.  It was the same thing that had changed him completely from the prat he used to be.  Scorpius.  His son.  His pride and joy.  His smile was genuine as his eyes sought out the platinum blonde two-year old.  His heart swelled with emotion and he knew without a doubt that he would move heaven and earth to protect his son.  He was determined to raise him in a love filled home, to show him the best side of the world. 

 

His one regret was Scorpius’ mother, Astoria.  They had married young, she just barely of age when their parents arranged their marriage.  They had been married for a little over a year and living at the Manor when Scorpius had been born and the marriage had gone downhill from there.  Astoria had grown withdrawn and whilst she lavished attention on Scorpius, she had avoided Draco.  Draco had grown suspicious and on the day of Scorpius’ first birthday, when she had disappeared for an extended period of time, he had sought her out.

 

He had not expected where he had found her, in their bedroom, screaming for pleasure underneath the bulk of Gregory Goyle.  He remembered that day.  He remembered feeling as if he was having an out of body experience.  He wasn’t shocked that she was having an affair, but with Goyle?  One of his supposed best friends.  It was only his love for his son that had kept him from hexing them both into oblivion.  Once he was sure that they had seen him, he turned on his heel and stalked away, leaving them scrambling for their clothes.  By they time they had made it downstairs, Draco, with the help of Narcissa and Lucius had packed up Scorpius’ belongings, and they had left the Manor.

 

The only contact he’d had with her since then was through solicitors, who had finalized the divorce in record time, leaving Astoria with nothing.  She lost custody of her son and any hope of any sort of spousal support due to the prenuptial agreement that she had signed.

 

Six months after that fateful day, Draco had purchased this small cottage and made it Unplottable, thus protecting him from Astoria trying to kidnap Scorpius.  He could only hope that one day his son would forgive him for preventing his mother to be a part of his life. 

 

That train of thought brought him back to the tow headed boy playing on the floor.  He was fascinated with the empty boxes that had hidden his birthday gifts and Pansy was playing with him.  Draco smiled at the image that the pair presented and was happy that Pansy had been such a good friend to them.  Where his former girlfriend had found her maternal instinct he didn’t know, but she had answered every one of his frantic Floo calls the first three months that they had been on their own.

 

He turned to go get the cake from the kitchen, when he felt a surge of magic break through his wards.  He pivoted to grab Scorpius, but before he was able, blackness engulfed him.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Hermione Granger looked around the emergency room at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries with a sense of pride.  After the defeat of Voldemort, she had gone back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry even though she had many job offers.  She had wanted a normal year of schooling before making her way into the adult world.  Professor McGonagall had been made Headmistress after the death of Headmaster Snape during the Final Battle. 

 

It had been a long and hard year, as the professors had decided to combine lecture classes with hands-on experience and enlisted the students help in rebuilding the castle.  Hermione had thought it was a brilliant idea since the students had been able to practically apply the lessons that they were learning in class.  The results proved the teaching method as the fifth and seventh year classes had broken records in the number of “Outstanding” marks in both the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.  Needless to say, the school governors were pleased and they were working to make a program for the fifth and seventh years to continue to be able to practically apply what they learned in class to keep up the good marks.

 

During that year, she, Ron, Harry and Ginny had been inseparable, both in class and out.  McGonagall had made some concessions since there were so many students that were coming back to complete their seventh year.  As a result, she had combined the seventh years of all four houses into one dorm.  Hermione and Ginny had shared a room with Luna Lovegood and Hannah Abbott.  McGonagall had wisely not paired any of the Golden Trio with anyone from Slytherin.    The four girls had become fast friends and at the urging of Ginny and Luna, Hermione had approached Madame Pomfrey to get some information on Healer training.  The Mediwitch ended up doing more than giving her information; she had begun to train Hermione herself. 

 

Hermione had ended up completing her medical training a full two years ahead of the norm.  Now she was entering her second year of working at the hospital and already her ideas were taking hold.  She had taken some ideas from Muggle hospitals and had suggested that they create a true emergency department staffed with Mediwitches and Mediwizards that had training in different specialties.  They also had an onsite potions lab that not only made all of the potions needed in the hospital, but also was doing research on any unknown potions that a patient might have taken to create an antidote.  The program was still in its infancy, but the results had been almost immediate.  The recovery rate among their patients that came in with unknown causes had increased dramatically. Her hope was that with all the research going on at the hospital, they could eventually cure the Longbottoms.  If they could, it would revolutionize the how they treated victims of the Cruciatus Curse.

 

Unfortunately, she was not assigned to the potions lab.  She really wanted to be the person who cured Neville’s parents, but she knew that she was used to action and would soon get bored in the lab.  She was learning a lot in the emergency department and from her mentor, Mediwizard Farley.  He had just completed his training when the First War with Voldemort had broken out and had served as one of the Order’s personal Healers during the Second War.  To say that he had seen almost everything was an understatement.  Hermione wondered if there was a curse that he had not seen.

 

She had just finished a consult with him in regards to a patient that had been splinched during an attempt to escape from Auror custody, when the warning bell rang signaling someone was traveling through the emergency Floo.  Not knowing what was coming through, as there was still not an equivalent to a paramedic in the Wizarding world, every available witch and wizard got prepared.  Hermione and Farley were the first in line.

 

It only took a few seconds before a small House Elf exited the Floo, a look of panic on her face.  “What’s wrong?” Hermione queried the small creature.

 

“You must come!  My master needs help!” the Elf wailed.

 

“What is your name?” Mediwizard Farley asked her.

 

“Willa.  Please, you must hurry!” she replied as she grabbed both Hermione and Farley and Apparated them to a small cottage.

 

When they landed, Hermione and her mentor looked around.  “Merlin, it looks as if a bomb went off in here,” Hermione muttered as she surveyed the ruined room.  As she looked around, she noticed that Lucius, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and an unknown woman lying on the floor.

 

Farley looked at Hermione briefly and said, “Triage.”

 

Hermione nodded, immediately moving to the people lying closest to her.  She muttered under her breath as she waved her wand over the elder Malfoys.  She noticed that both of their breathing was labored, and their faces were tinged gray.  She quickly turned her attention to Draco and muttered the same spell.  “I’m worried about the Malfoys.  Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy are both struggling to breath and Draco Malfoy’s pulse is too low.”  She completed the scans of the remaining people in the room.  “The others seem fine.”

 

Farley nodded.  “I agree,” he stated as he turned to the Elf.  “Willa?  Do you know what happened here?”

 

The little Elf shook her head in sorrow as fat tears rolled down her face.  “No, sir.  Willa was at Malfoy Manor when the necklace Master gave me burned.  Willa came immediately here and found Master Lucius and Mistress Narcissa,” she wailed.

 

The kind Mediwizard patted her on the shoulder.  “You did a great job, Willa.  You came and got help.  That’s all you could have done,” he consoled her.

 

Hermione began to prepare to move the victims by Floo to the hospital.  “Farley, I think we need to contact the Aurors.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Look at them.  Not one has a wand drawn.  Whatever happened, it took them by surprise.”

 

“They could have been poisoned,” Farley said.

 

Hermione shook her head.  “If it had been a poisoning, then all the victims would be exhibiting similar symptoms.  I don’t think so; I think this was an attack.  I’ll send my Patronus to Harry; see if he can send a team of Aurors over.”

 

“That’s not possible, Miss,” Willa interrupted.

 

“Why?” Hermione asked.

 

“Master Draco made his home Unplottable.”

 

Hermione cocked an eyebrow.  “Could you bring them here?  We need to find out what happened to your Master,” she queried calmly.

 

“Yes, Miss.  Willa can do that!” the little Elf said excitedly, happy to be doing something to help her Masters.

 

“Okay.  I’ll send my Patronus and tell Harry to meet me at St. Mungo’s.  Willa can bring the Aurors here from there,” she said decisively.  Not waiting for her mentor’s okay, she quickly sent her Patronus to Harry.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Harry Potter was enjoying a long lunch with his longtime girlfriend, Ginny Weasley.  She had just arrived for a small break in training from the Holyhead Harpies, so she had surprised him with lunch.  As he watched the light play on her hair, he thought back to how much his life had changed since he defeated Voldemort.  If someone had told him when he was sixteen that he was destined to be deliriously happy, he would have called that person a wild optimist.  Truth be told, he had never expected to survive the final battle, but somehow he did.

 

Ginny smiled when she saw he was distracted.  “So, anyway, I told Mum that I had decided to dye my hair green and she thought it was a brilliant idea.”

 

“That’s nice,” Harry started to say before he jumped.  “Ginny!”

 

Ginny laughed.  “Wanted to make sure that you were really listening to me.  What were you thinking about?”

 

“About how much life has changed since the war.  Teddy is six and it’s so nice to see that even though Remus and Tonks are dead, he’s got a family.  His life is so different than what mine was.”

 

Ginny reached across the table and patted his hand lightly.  “He’s got you to thank for that.  What has got you so melancholy today?”

 

Harry shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I feel like…I should be doing something more with my life.  I spent my childhood battling evil and even though I’m still doing the same thing, it feels routine.”

 

“Harry, you are twenty-two.  It is too early for you to have a mid-life crisis.  I think the problem is that we’ve moved on from our previous life.  I play Quidditch professionally, you and Ron are Aurors and Hermione is a Healer.  It’s not like when we were at Hogwarts, when you three were inseparable.  Maybe we all need to take a holiday together.”

 

“Maybe.  How is your training going?”

 

Ginny smiled.  “I think I’m going to retire after this season is over.  All we have left is the World Cup, and whilst the Harpies are a good team, I don’t see us surpassing Ireland to win the Cup.”

 

Harry looked at her in shock.  “What?  I thought you loved playing,” Harry stated in shock.

 

“I do, but I got an offer from _The Daily Prophet._   They want me to become their Quidditch correspondent.  I think that it would be a nice change of pace.”  Ginny failed to mention that when they got married, she wanted to be able to stay at home and raise her children.  She didn’t want to scare Harry away.

 

Harry mused on Ginny’s job changed and wondered what that would mean for their relationship.  He thought of the ring that was locked inside the Potter vault.  His mother’s engagement ring.  He knew that it was almost the right time to propose.  Instantly, his mood began to brighten and he smiled at her.  “I’ll support you no matter what, Ginny.  I love you and I want you to be happy.”

 

“I love you, too,” Ginny said softly, looking at their intertwined fingers.

 

The peaceful silence was only broken when Harry gasped.  “That’s Mione’s Patronus!” he exclaimed as the silvery otter floated up to him.

 

“Harry.  I need you and a team of Aurors to come to St. Mungo’s.  As quickly as possible, please.  I’ll explain everything to you when you get here.  Cheers!” Hermione’s voice echoed from the otter.

 

Meeting each other’s eyes and both feeling a sense of dread, Harry and Ginny stood up.  “Blimey, that doesn’t sound good,” Harry said, worry filling his voice.

 

“You go and get Ron and whomever you decide that you need,” Ginny instructed.  “I’ll let Mum know that we’ll be late for dinner.”  With a quick spin, she Disapparated away with a quiet pop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please review!


	3. Unusual Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione fights for Draco's life whilst Ron and Harry try to find out what happened at the cottage.

When Harry and his team arrived at the hospital, they found Hermione in a room with an unconscious Draco Malfoy.  “Mione?  What happened?” Harry asked her.

 

Hermione looked up from her complicated wand movements.  “I have no idea.  A House Elf arrived and brought myself and Healer Farley to a small cottage.  Found six people lying unconscious, including Malfoy and his parents.  The place was a mess, but none of them had their wands drawn.”

 

“So why call me here?” Harry asked, still confused.

 

Hermione sighed impatiently as one of her monitors began to beep.  “Damn it,” she said a she turned her attention back to Malfoy.  “His blood pressure’s dropping again!  Carol, do we have the lab results back yet?” she asked one of the nurses, to which she got a head shake. 

 

Harry, Ron and Ginny stood back, watching as Hermione worked valiantly to stabilize their former enemy.  Eight swishes, two flicks and what looked like one figure eight later, the monitors resumed their normal beeping.

 

Hermione turned back to the group.  “The reason I called you here was because the cottage is Unplottable.  Willa, the House Elf, is in with Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy.  She said that she would take you there.”

 

Ginny knew that Harry would not let her go to a possible crime scene, so she shot Hermione a smile.  “I guess I’ll stay here and keep you company, Mione.  Who’s treating Malfoy’s son?”

 

Hermione looked at her in confusion.  “Son?  What son?”

 

“You mean that you didn’t know that Malfoy had a son!” Ginny exclaimed in shock.  “It was only the biggest scandal of last year.  Draco Malfoy found out that his wife was having an affair.  It was a messy divorce and she lost custody of her son.  She doesn’t even have visitation rights from what the papers say.”

 

“There was not a child there,” Hermione stated.  “The only other people were Zabini, Parkinson and what could possible be Zabini’s mother.  They are still unconscious.  Harry, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy are across the hall; Willa is with them.  Maybe she can shed some light on the matter.  Now that Malfoy is somewhat stable, I’m going to check on the lab results.”

 

Harry and Ron watched with amusement as she swept out of the room, her emerald green robes billowing behind her.  “Blimey, Harry.  She reminds me a little of Snape.”

 

“Scary,” Harry replied.  He looked at his team of Aurors, minus Ginny who was wandering off with a hand wave.  “Sebastian and Aaron, I want you two to stay here and watch over the Malfoys.  Ron and I will go investigate the scene.”

 

The two Aurors nodded at Harry and Ron crossed the hall.  Harry walked into the treatment and made sure to stay out of the Healers way.  He looked at the small House Elf, her face filled with sorrow.  “Willa?” Harry began.

 

Willa looked up.  “Harry Potter!” she said in surprise.  “Is Harry Potter going to find out what happened to Master Lucius and Mistress Narcissa?”

 

Harry smiled at her exuberance.  “I’m going to try, but I have a few questions first.  Where is Draco’s son?”

 

The Elf shook her head.  “Willa thought he was at the cottage, but after Willa brought the back the Healers, she found out he wasn’t.”  Tears began to flow down her face.

 

“It’s okay, Willa,” Ron tried to console her.  “Can you take us there?”

 

Willa nodded her head emphatically as she grabbed their hands.  Within seconds, they were standing in a destroyed room.

 

Both men withdrew their wands, automatically scanning for potential intruders.  Both ended up with a smile on their face.  “Gotta hand it to Mione, Harry.  She doesn’t leave anything to chance,” Ron said as they recognized the wards around the property.

 

Harry laughed.  “Willa?  Where are the House Elves?”

 

“Master Draco doesn’t have any, but…” she trailed off.

 

“But what, Willa?  It’s very important that we know,” Harry urged.

 

“Mistress Narcissa would have Jolly come over and check on Master Draco.”

 

Ron mused over what the Elf said.  “Would Jolly know about the wards that Master Draco had in place?”  Willa nodded, so he continued, “Can you have Jolly come over here?”

 

Willa didn’t answer; she just clapped her hands and disappeared.

 

“What are you thinking, Ron?” Harry asked.

 

Ron looked around the room.  “Look at the destruction here.  It looks like a caldron blew up, but the child is missing and the ones that were severely injured were the Malfoys.”

 

“So what does that tell you?”

 

“I think that Malfoy may have put up blood wards.”  Ron looked at Harry’s confused face.  “Blood wards are used to block anyone that is not a direct relative of the person who set them up from entering the premise without explicit permission.  They are extremely difficult to break, and when broken they backlash on the castor and any family members present.”

 

“Then if the wards were broken, then Malfoy would be the one most affected.  That explains why we were able to come in,” Harry wondered aloud.  Why don’t you check out everything down here and I’ll take the second floor.”

 

“I’ll see if the House Elf can confirm that, but I’m going to go ahead and send Mione my Patronus to let her know what we suspect.”

 

Harry just nodded as he made his way up the stairs.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Hermione stared at the lab results in confusion.  “Are you sure that this is correct?” she asked the blonde technician. 

 

“Yes, ma’am.  I ran it three times to be certain.”

 

“Arsenic.  I didn’t think that the Wizarding world used that as a poison.  Plus, it doesn’t match up with the symptoms that my patient has.”  Hermione shook her head.

 

“Normally, they don’t, but due to the magic that is in the very core of our body and blood, arsenic is much more poisonous to wizards than to Muggles.  In magical people it can cause heart failure if the dose is high enough.  I only found arsenic in Draco Malfoy’s blood, but in _all_ of the Malfoy’s blood, I noticed a spike in its reaction to magic.  It’s almost like the blood is reacting to some sort of magical shock.”

 

Hermione looked at the woman.  “Thank you.  You have been very helpful.  Now, I just need to discover what caused this, so I can treat the cause, not just the symptoms.  Anything else I should know?”

 

She shook her head.  “Don’t use blood replenishers.  If the patient needs blood, it needs to be a transfusion.”

 

Hermione smiled.  “Because replenishers will just clone the patient’s blood, impurities and all.  It would probably cause his death,” she finished.  “Thank you so much.”

 

The lab technician just nodded as Hermione strode out of the lab.  Just as she exited the doors, her wand vibrated and then let out a puff of blue smoke, so Hermione ran to the Apparition point on the floor.  For the safety of the staff and patients, they were only allowed to Apparate from specific points on each floor.  Once there, she quickly Apparated to the emergency department, where she ran towards Draco’s room.  When she arrived all of the machines were beeping furiously.  “What happened?” she asked Carol.

 

She looked at her.  “His heart just stopped beating.  We’ve tried reviving it with the usual spells, but they are not working.”

 

Hermione nodded, thinking to the magical shock that the lab technician had mentioned.  “Then we’ll have to do it the Muggle way,” she said calmly as she conjured a breathing bag, handing it to the woman.  “I’ll do the chest compressions; you force air into his lungs.”  She waved her wand quickly to lower the bed to a comfortable height to do the compressions.

 

She began the compressions and after five minutes with no results, she was starting to get frustrated.  “Damn it, Malfoy,” she breathed under her breath.  “I may not like you, but you sure as hell are _not_ going to die on my watch!” 

 

As if he heard her, his eyes flew open as he gasped for air and he tried to sit up.  “Scorpius!” he called out, his voice rough.

 

Hermione held him down tightly, preventing him from hurting himself.  “Shh,” she murmured soothingly as she motioned for the rest of the staff to leave.  “Draco?  Do you know where you are?”  She noticed how his eyes moved around, taking everything in.  _He’s responding to questions; that’s a good sign,_ she thought.

 

“Hospital,” he finally responded as he ceased his struggling.

 

“Good.  I’m going to let you go know, but move carefully,” Hermione said softly.  “Let me get you some water.”  She grabbed a glass and quickly muttered, _“Aguamenti.”_

 

Draco took a deep drink of the water, before looking at the woman in front of her.  After he set it aside, he looked at her.  “Granger?”

 

Hermione smiled.  “Good, you at least recognize who I am,” she stopped when she saw Ron’s Patronus coming towards her.

 

 _“Mione, we think that Malfoy had blood wards up.  If so, it will cause magical shock.  Be careful.”_ Ron’s voice told her.

 

Hermione raised and eyebrow.  “That would explain why you are so sensitive to magic right now, but not the other results,” she said as she turned back to the aristocratic blonde man.  “What happened?”

 

Draco looked at her, not distrusting her, but not trusting himself to confide in her.  “Where is Scorpius?”

 

“Is that your son?”  At his nod, she bit her lip.  “I wish I could tell you.  He wasn’t at the cottage.”  She saw the look on his face and stood.  “Don’t make me put you in restraints to keep you here,” she threatened.  “As soon as Willa brought Healer Farley and me to the cottage, I called for the Aurors.  Harry brought a team here.  Two are staying here to watch over you and your parents.  He and Ron went back to the cottage with Willa to see if they could find out what happened.”

 

Draco stared at her, trying his best to intimidate her into letting him go.  “Bloody hell, Granger.  You tell me my son is missing and you don’t expect me to want to look for him?” he spat out.

 

Hermione just raised an eyebrow. “Really.  And what are you going to do in your condition, Malfoy?  You’ve been poisoned with arsenic, to which I have just brought your ungrateful arse back from the brink of death because of, and you are suffering from severe magical shock due to the backlash of your blood wards being broken.  Your mother and father and still unconscious.  I understand the driving need to go look for him, but you will do nothing more than hurt yourself and where would that leave you!” she returned with just as much heat.

 

Draco flinch at bit at her voice, but as always, he saw her logic.  “Fine.  I’ll stay here, but I’m bringing my own people in on this.”

 

“Yeah, that’s going to be helpful.  You had blood wards, Malfoy.  Whoever broke them, had to have known that.  On top of that, they poisoned you.  If Willa had not found you, you’d be dead.  I still need to treat the poisoning and since you are so sensitive to magic, it’s going to have to be the Muggle way.  It is not going to be pleasant.”  She took some pity on him.  “Try to get some sleep.  I’m sure as soon as Harry and Ron get back, they will pester you with questions to try to find your son.  You might want to start making a list of people that are capable of pulling off this kidnapping and want you dead.  I have a feeling that it will be extremely important that you start thinking about that.”

 

With that, Hermione turned on her heel, stalking out of the room before she lost the tenuous control of her temper.  Draco just wanted her in awe.  _Bloody hell, she hasn’t changed one bit since Hogwarts._

 

**~H~P~**


	4. Questions beget Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A criminal investigation always leads to questions and a hunt for a paisley snortbuckle of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the 2nd chapter that I am posting tonight, so if you haven't read 3, then you might want to start there!

A few hours later, Harry and Ron had made it back to the hospital.  They found Hermione in Draco’s room, looking over a chart.  “Hey, Mione.  How’s he doing?” Ron asked as they walked in.

 

Hermione looked up and smiled, grateful that they had put the awkwardness of their breakup the previous year behind them.  “Hi.  I got your message and when he awoke, Draco confirmed that he did have blood wards in place.”

 

Ron looked at the blonde man asleep in the bed.  “Draco?  You’re on a first name basis with him?” he said with disbelief coloring his voice.

 

“Please, Ronald.  He is not the same person that we went to school with,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes.  “Did you find anything out about his son?  I practically had to restrain him to keep him from trying to find him.”

 

Harry shook his head.  “Nothing.  I’m about to go and take a team to the ex-wife’s house to see if she is the one that orchestrated the kidnapping.”  Harry shook his head.  “That’s what I think that it was.”

 

“You might want to add attempted murder to the charges when you get a viable suspect.  They tried to kill him.”  Hermione looked at Ron and Harry.  “Look, he was poisoned.  If Willa had not found him when she did, I have no doubt that he would not have survived.  It makes sense that the ex might be involved, especially if what Ginny said about the divorce is true.”

 

Harry sighed.  “In that case, I’m going to leave the Aurors here.  Ron, I want you to stay and interview the other victims as soon as you are able.  We need to see if they saw or heard anything that could be helpful.  I’ll go hunt down the wife.  See if we can get permission to search her premises.  If she had him, we’ll find him,” he said with conviction in his voice.  Ron nodded his head and left the room.

 

Hermione smiled.  “You might want to enlist Ginny’s help.  You know she is great at finding people.  Plus, she seemed to really know about the scandal, so maybe she can shed some light on the subject.”

 

Harry looked reluctant to involve his girlfriend in the case, but finally nodded his head.  “You have a point.  She’s stubborn and she had more contacts than me.”  He glanced down at the sleeping man.  “When he wakes up, let me know.  I want to question him myself.  You know how Ron holds a grudge.”

 

Hermione nodded.  “Okay.  Go, find your girlfriend.  You two don’t get to see much of each other as it is.”

 

Harry just smiled as he walked out of the room.

 

Once he was gone, Hermione turned to the bed.  “It’s not nice to eavesdrop, Malfoy.”

 

Draco opened his eyes and smirked.  “I’m a Slytherin.  I’m not a nice person.”  He grew serious.  “As much as I can’t stand Potter, he seems to know what he is doing,” he admitted.

 

Hermione smiled.  “He does.  After all we went through in school; we didn’t have a normal childhood.  It prepared us for our adult lives pretty well.  How are you feeling?”

 

“Tired and sore.”

 

“That’s to be expected since I had to perform Muggle CPR on you and with how much arsenic was in your blood.  I think the magical shock should wear off in the next day or so.  Blaise, Pansy and Mrs. Zabini are all recovering nicely.  They were just stunned, so they will be released in the next couple of hours.  We are going to transfer you and your parents to private rooms as well.  We want to keep you under observation for the next few days to make sure the shock wears off.”

 

Draco scowled.

 

Hermione just raised an eyebrow.  “Don’t forget that you almost died.  I want to make sure that all of the arsenic is out of your system before I let you go.”

 

“Fine, but I want to be kept informed of the progress into the search for my son.”

 

“I’m sure that Harry will keep you informed.  Try to rest and when it comes time for you to be transferred, I’ll introduce you to your new Healer.”

 

Draco settled back into his bed, wondering why Granger’s bossy attitude was not grating on his nerves.

 

**H~P**

 

Harry finally found Ginny in the hospital cafeteria.  She was sitting at a table, talking to Luna.  “Hi Luna,” Harry greeted the strange blonde.  “How are your classes going with Professor Trelawney?”  He was just asking to be nice, but Luna had been a good friend to him.  He was truly intrigued that the professor said that Luna was a Seer.

 

“They are interesting.  She is teaching me how to read auras.  Fascinating.  For instance, with Ginny’s temper, you would expect her aura to be red, but it’s not.  It’s the deep blue of the midnight ocean, while yours is the bright red of crackling flames.  This means that you and she are destined to compliment each other.  When you walked up, both of your auras seemed to reach for each other.  Very unusual and usually an indication of soul mates,” Luna said dreamily.

 

“Um, thanks,” Harry responded before he turned to Ginny.  “Can I steal you away for a moment?  I may need your help.”

 

“Sure,” Ginny replied before turning to Luna.  “I’ll catch up with you later.”

 

“That’s fine.  I’ll keep up my search for the paisley snortbuckle,” Luna said as she stood and moved away as if in a trance.

 

Harry managed to keep from laughing until they were out of earshot.  “Where does she come up with that stuff?”  He shook his head.  “Anyway, I need to find Malfoy’s ex-wife.  Mione suggested that you might know how to find her.”

 

Ginny looked pensive.  “Let’s see.  He married Astoria Greengrass, Daphne’s younger sister.  I know for a fact that when she was forced to divorce Malfoy, her family disowned her.  That coupled with the fact that because she was unfaithful to him, she didn’t get a single Knut means that she either is living with friends or living someplace less than reputable.”

 

“I’d prefer to start with her friends, first.  Do you know who they are?”

 

Ginny tapped her lips with her finger for a moment.  “Let me ask around and I’ll see if I can find an answer for you.”

 

Harry nodded.  “All right.  The faster, the better.  There is a missing child here.”

 

“Have I ever disappointed you, love?” Ginny said with a wink as she sauntered off.

 

Harry just smiled as he watched her walk away.

 

**H~P**

 

Ron drew a steadying breath as he stood outside of Pansy Parkinson’s room.  Silently, he told himself that he would not allow her to goad him into losing his temperature.  Slowly, he exhaled and then stepped into the room.  He looked at the black haired woman lying on the bed, noticing that she must have had some cosmetic enhancements as she no longer looked like a pug.

 

“Oh, great.  A Weasel,” she said scathingly.

 

“Nice to see you too, Pansy.  I have some questions for you in regards to the events of this afternoon,” Ron said as he fought down a biting remark.

 

“Fine.  Go on,” she returned as she studied her fingernails.

 

“What is the last thing that you remember before waking up in the hospital?” Ron asked.

 

Pansy thought for a moment.  “I was playing with Scorpius on the floor.  He had just finished opening his presents and wanted to play with the boxes instead of the toy broom that I had gotten him.  I remember seeing Draco sway a little before I felt something hit me.”

 

Ron made some notes.  “Do you know who would want to hurt Mr. Malfoy?”

 

Pansy snorted.  “How much parchment do you have?  There were scores of purebloods that are upset with the fact that his family got off with basically a warning after the war.  They were just ordered to pay some reparations.  Plus, Astoria was very bitter about the divorce.  Why she would want to sleep with Goyle of all people, you got me, but she made her bed.  She just didn’t want to lay in it.”

 

“Would she kidnap Scorpius?”

 

“If it meant getting him back and hurting Drakie in the process, yeah.  But there was no way she could have.  Drakie’s wards were built specifically to prevent her from finding them.  Trust me when I say, she is not a good enough witch to find a way to bypass them.”

 

Ron nodded his head.  “Thank you for your time,” he said as he left the room, grateful to be out of her obnoxious presence. 

 

He made his way to the next room over, this one the temporary home of Blaise Zabini.  He didn’t expect any attitude from the intelligent Slytherin.  He stepped in smiled as the nurse was flirting with his witness.  Ron cleared his throat and quickly the nurse left the room.

 

“Mr. Zabini, I’d like to ask you a few questions about what happened today.”

 

“By all means, go ahead.  I want to discover what has happened as much as Draco does.  Scorpius is my godson,” Blaise said smoothly as his dark skin shone in the candlelight.

 

Ron nodded.  “Did you find anything usual about the gathering today?”

 

Blaise seemed to think about it.  “No.  Draco had his normal wards up.  He had extended the invitation to both me and my mother, so once we arrived, he blocked the wards again.  As always, he had turned the Floo off.  He only opened it if there was an emergency.  We had a quiet lunch, and then some birthday cake before Scorpius opened his presents.”

 

“Do you know what knocked you unconscious?” Ron queried.

 

“No idea.  I saw Draco get paler than normal and then I felt a surge of magic.  The next thing I knew, I was waking up here.”

 

“What about enemies?  Does Mr. Malfoy have any that are powerful enough to overcome his wards?”

 

Blaise pursed his lips.  “Not to the best of my knowledge.  I haven’t heard anything about anyone specifically plotting against him.  Maybe it was the family of a Death Eater that lost everything.  Desperation and revenge can be powerful motivators.”

 

Ron nodded.  “Thank you for your time.”  He sighed as he walked out of the room.  _Well, that was informative.  Why do I feel like something else is going on here?_

 

**H~P**

 

After Ginny left Harry, she made her way to _The Daily Prophet_.  She knew that Lavender Brown, the most notorious gossip and writer of the social section of the _Prophet_ , would be the best person to ask about anything to do with scandals.  It would also give her a chance to accept the position as Quidditch correspondent once the season ended.

 

Once she arrived, and spoke to the editor, she walked through the crowded newsroom to find Lavender.  She found the woman, sitting at her desk writing on a parchment in excitement.  “Lavender!  Hi,” Ginny greeted the curly-headed blonde.

 

“Well, if it isn’t Ginny Weasley,” Lavender returned with a smile, before scanning her up and down.  “Still no ring, what’s keeping you from marrying Harry?”

 

Ginny raised an eyebrow.  “None of your business, Lav.  Listen, I had some questions for you and since you seem to know everything about everyone, I was wondering if you could help me.”

 

Lavender looked intrigued, her blue eyes sparkling.  “Sit, sit.  What can I do for you?”

 

Ginny sank into a simple wooden chair.  “Tell me what you know of Draco Malfoy’s divorce.”

 

Lavender’s eyebrow rose in surprise.  “Well, it sure was messy.  As it turns out, Astoria had signed a prenuptial agreement.  She obviously did not read it because it stated and I quote, ‘If you are to be discovered in an extramarital affair, this marriage becomes null and void.  You will not receive any monetary compensation from the dissolution of said marriage and the father will be granted sole custody of any children produced.’  Rather nasty document there,” Lavender told her.

 

Ginny smiled.  “Yes it is.  So, what ever happened to Astoria?  I heard that her family disowned her.”

 

Lavender nodded emphatically.  “Oh yes.  She ended up broke and friendless.  Not even two days after the divorce was final, she moved out the country.  No one knows where she went.”

 

“Interesting.  Oh, well.  I should get going.  I had just come down here to accept Editor Cornwallis’s offer to becoming a Quidditch correspondent after this season is over.”

 

Lavender squealed in excitement.  “Oh!  We’re going to work together!  I can’t wait.”  She quickly wrapped Ginny in a quick hug.  “I’d better get going.  I’m covering the upcoming Halloween Ball at the Ministry and I need to get my contacts into place.”

 

Ginny returned the hug and then quickly made her escape.  Lavender’s squeal had made her remember how happy she was when Ron had broken up with the woman.  She had way too much energy.  As she made her way outside the newsroom, she mulled over what the woman had told her.  _So,_ _Astoria_ _Greengrass has disappeared.  This just keeps getting more intriguing._

 

**H~P**

 


	5. Standing Still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More questions than answers and really, why introduce logic?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay....This is the 3rd chapter I'm posting tonight, so start with 3 if you haven't read that far! (I'm trying to get up to where I have posted on ff.net, so 5 down and 17 to go!)

After Ginny had gotten her information from Lavender, she went back to the hospital, figuring that Harry would still be there.  She was right, since she found him in the cafeteria drinking coffee with Hermione.  Ginny smiled as she approached them and greeted Harry with a light kiss.  “Hey.”

 

“Hey, love.  You have that look.  What did you find out?” Harry returned.

 

Ginny smirked.  “Actually a couple of things.  One, I’m going to be working with Lavender.”  She shuddered slightly thinking of the gossipy blonde.  “And, two, Astoria Greengrass has left the country.  No one that Lavender knows has any idea where she is.”

 

Hermione raised an eyebrow.  “That certainly stirs things up.  Makes her even more of a suspect.  Maybe Draco would have an idea.  With that messy of a divorce, I’d be surprised if he hadn’t been having her followed to make sure she didn’t see her son.”

 

Harry nodded as he sighed.  “I’d guess I’d better go question him.”

 

Hermione shot him a warning look.  “Please keep in mind that his body is still in shock and try not to worsen his condition, please?”  She felt her wand vibrate and then glow red.  “We’ve got incoming, I’d better go.”  She wave as she quickly made her way back towards the emergency department.

 

Ginny looked at Harry.  “I agree with Hermione on this one, be nice.  But, I’ll tell Mum that we won’t make it tonight, so I’m going to head back to Grimmauld Place.  I’ll see you in a bit.”  She leaned down as gave him a parting kiss.

 

“I’ll be home as soon as I can, Gin,” Harry said as he stood to walk her out.

 

A few minutes later, he was walking into the revamped intensive care unit and spoke quietly with the nurse on duty.  He was directed to Draco’s room and once there, took a deep breath before walking in. 

 

Draco looked up as Harry entered the room, unable to conceal the faint hope in his eyes for good news, which was dampened as he saw the looked on Harry’s face.  “Potter,” he said shortly.

 

Harry nodded his head once and returned the greeting.  “Malfoy.  I have some questions for you.”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“Did your ex-wife lose complete custody of your son?”

 

Draco nodded.  “Yes.  She does not have even visiting rights.  Do you think that she was responsible?”

 

Harry sighed.  “Honestly, she’s my only suspect that this point.  Do you have any idea of where she is?”

 

“I did up until the divorce was final.  Once it was final, she traveled to Turkey and my man lost track of her there.”   A look of rage crossed his face.  “I can tell you this; she has not entered England legally since then.  I have warnings in place in case that happens.”

 

Harry nodded, wisely not asking any questions into the nature of the warnings.  “Any and all information that you can provide me with about her last known location in Turkey would be greatly appreciated.  It will help me coordinate with the international Aurors in order see if I can track her down.”

 

“Then you want to see Achim Bitterstein.  He was the wizard that I hired to follow her, but he is very secretive.  I will need to send him an owl to let him know that it is okay to speak to you.”

 

Harry just nodded as he handed him some parchment and a Muggle pen, to which Draco raised an eyebrow.  “It’s easier than having to carry around a pot of ink everywhere and works just as well,” he explained.

 

“Huh, interesting,” Draco said as he began to write.  Once done, he called out, “Willa!”

 

The House Elf appeared almost instantly.  “Yes, Master Draco?”

 

Draco smiled affectionately at the small creature.  “Can you please send this to Achim?  And once delivered find out when a convenient time for Mr. Potter to visit him.  There are some questions that need to be answered and quickly.

 

“Certainly, Master Draco.  Willa will deliver it herself and come back here with a response.”  The little Elf nodded enthusiastically before she disappeared with a loud crack.

 

The two men looked at each other, neither one knowing what to say, so they just settled into an uncomfortable silence, awaiting Willa’s return.  Thankfully, the Elf was back in five minutes and she looked at Harry.  “Mr. Potter, Mr. Bitterstein will be available to see you on the morrow at ten a.m.  Master Draco, he sends his regards and wishes for a speedy recovery.”

 

Draco smiled.  “Thank you, Willa.  I don’t know what I would do without you and Jolly.”

 

Willa just hid her face behind her hands.  “Willa must go, Master Draco.  Willa needs to prepare the Manor for Master Lucius and Mistress Narcissa’s return.”

 

Harry watched the scene in amazement, wondering exactly how much Draco had changed from the boy that had terrorized Dobby.  With a smile, and a softening attitude towards the sneaky Slytherin.  “I’ll be in touch, Malfoy.  Hopefully within the next couple of days.”

 

Draco just nodded as he watched his former rival leave, sensing that they had put part of the past behind them.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Hermione sighed as she sank onto a couch in the Healer’s lounge.  Healer Farley had left an hour before, and Hermione knew that she should as well.  She was into the twentieth hour of what supposed to be a twelve-hour shift, but she couldn’t make herself leave.  The incoming patients that had pulled her away from Ginny and Harry had ended up being a potions experiment gone horribly wrong.  Nine patients in all, covered in boils and dangerously unstable.

 

The emergency team had managed to stabilize them all; however all were unconscious so they were not able to tell them what the potions was supposed to be, nevertheless what might have gone wrong.  They could tell that the potion had exploded and had not been ingested, so that made stabilizing them a bit easier, but it had been six hours since they had come in and not one had awoken.  The Potions Lab was doing their best, but since the room that the people had been in had been destroyed, they were trying to work with the minute traces that had been on the victim’s skin.

 

After a thirty minute breather, Hermione decided to go and check up on Draco, wondering if he was asleep, but knowing that he probably wasn’t.  It was obvious in his demeanor that he loved his son and sure enough when she peeked inside his room, he was staring into space.  She smiled as she walked in, automatically looking at his chart.  “How are you feeling, Malfoy?” she asked.

 

Draco looked at Hermione as she walked in.  “Tired, furious.”

 

“That’s to be expected.  I’d give you a Dreamless Sleep Potion, but I’m not sure how your body would react.”

 

Draco shook his head.  “I don’t like them anyway.  They leave me muddleheaded.  Is there a way I could get some parchment and a quill?  I’d like to see if I can think of anyone that would kidnap Scorpius.”  Draco glanced away, wondering when the ransom demand would be issued.

 

Hermione looked at the distressed man.  “Draco?” she said softly.  “Harry will find whoever did this.  If I’ve learned anything about him in the last eleven years, it’s that he is absolutely tenacious.”  She knew better than to voice her thoughts, that historically the longer a child was gone, the more likely it was that the child would not be found alive.  She had that feeling with this case since whomever had kidnapped him had intended to kill all of the Malfoys.

 

“How are my parents?” Draco asked suddenly, trying to change the topic.

 

“They’re good.  They awoke not too long after you, and while they are still experiencing shock, they are recovering well.  They more than likely will be released tomorrow, with you the following day,” Hermione tried to reassure him.  “If you give me a moment, I’ll fetch the parchment for you.”

 

Draco watched as she walked out of the room, wondering why he liked the sight of her in Slytherin colors as much as he did.  Finally putting his thoughts aside as a side effect of the shock, he began to mentally make a list of people that would want to kidnap his son.  He only had a few people on this list when she returned and quietly handed him the supplies.  “Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome.  If you need anything, feel free to have them contact me,” Hermione told him as she turned to leave.

 

“Wait,” Draco called out, surprising both of them.  “Look, we may have been rivals in school, but you do have a logical mind, which I don’t have right now.  Can I run some ideas past you?”

 

Hermione nodded.  “Give me one moment,” she said before conjuring her Patronus.  “Healer Mabry.  I am going off duty, but please feel free to contact me if something changes with the potions patients.  Have a good evening.”  She sent the Patronus off with ease.

 

Draco watched her with a bit of envy.  He had not mastered conjuring a Patronus until Scorpius was born.  He figured it was because his childhood had not been exactly happy, but he was pleased with the form it took.  A mink.  Once she had settled into a chair by the bed, he began to talk as he wrote down names.  “Okay, people who would want to kidnap my son.  Obviously, Astoria ranks number one on that list.”

 

Hermione nodded.  “She is an accomplished witch, familiar with you and what type of wards you would set, but she has no means to support him that we know of.  She is definitely a person of interest.”

 

Draco nodded.  “She has also not entered the country legally since the divorce.  Long distance Apparition is not her forte, so she would have to have been smuggled in.”

 

“Which indicates an accomplice,” Hermione pointed out.  “So who would have the ability to help her?  Her family?”

 

Draco shook his head.  “Not possible.  The Greengrass’ are still trying to get back into my parent’s good graces.”

 

“What about the man she had an affair with?”

 

Draco snorted in laughter.  “Goyle?  No.  He doesn’t have the brains or the money to pull something like this off.  Now, Miles Bletchley has the money and he was smart enough for him and Astoria to have planned this.”

 

“Who’s that?”

 

“Keeper for the Slytherin Quidditch team during our school years.”

 

Hermione still couldn’t put a face with the description.  “Put him on the list, then.  What about Marcus Flint?”

 

Draco shook his head.  “He escaped to America when the War began.  Last I heard, he was living it up in California.  Millicent Bulstrode is a possibility.”

 

It was Hermione’s turn to shake her head.  “Nope, she’s in the permanent spell damage ward here.  Seems like she tried to do her own version of Muggle plastic surgery about a year ago.  She’s not leaving anytime soon.  What about, Merlin what was his name?  He was in our year, a Slytherin and part of Slughorn’s “Slug Club.”  I can’t think of his name.”

 

“Blaise?  No way.  He’s my best mate.”

 

“I didn’t realize that it was Blaise in the club, but he does have the brains.”

 

Draco stared at Hermione in shock.  “It’s not him.”

 

Hermione held up her hands.  “I take it back.”

 

Draco just shook his head.  “Maybe it’s not even a British Wizard.  There is no telling where Astoria went and Malfoy money talks all over the world.  It’s probably just someone just wanting an easy payout.”

 

Hermione raised an eyebrow.  “And would it be?  Pardon me for thinking that if this was for ransom, the perpetrator would have to know that with your father’s history, retribution is a very real possibility.”

 

“True.  But that just furthers my theory.  A British Wizard would not risk this.  It must be a foreign Wizard.”

 

Hermione could not keep the disbelief off her face.  “And how would a foreign Wizard smuggle her into the country,” she countered, thinking about how like Harry he was acting.  Blindly following a train of thought that made no sense.

 

As he opened his mouth to response, a Patronus in the form of a beagle floated up.  “Hermione, all the patients are crashing.  We need you here now!”  Hermione jumped to her feet and without saying anything to Draco, she ran out of the room.

 

Draco watched her leave, a voice in the back of his head telling him that she could be right.

 

**~H~P~**

 


	6. A Cold Trail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meetings and a possible lead.

At ten a.m. the following morning, Harry was standing in the reception room for Achim Bitterstein, private investigator.  He looked around the lushly appointed office, tasteful, but not overdone.  The secretary smiled at him, her rich brown hair pulled into a simple up do.  “Herr Bitterstein will be with you in one moment,” she told him with a slight German accent.

 

Harry nodded as he sat in one of the available chairs.  Only a few moments had lapsed when the office door open and a lean man walked out.  He was in fifties, with graying black hair and a pleasant expression on his face.  “Mr. Potter.  Thank you for coming,” the man said as he extended his hand, his accent more evident than the secretary’s.

 

Harry walked over to him and delivered a firm handshake.  “On the contrary, Mr. Bitterstein, it is I who should thank you for agreeing to speak to me.”

 

“Only with the permission of Mr. Malfoy.  Please do sit down,” the investigator returned as he gestured to a chair in front of a mahogany desk.  “What information can I help you out with?”

 

Harry sighed.  “First, I want to make certain that this information does not go beyond this room, since it is in regards to an ongoing investigation.”

 

“Most certainly.  Privacy is my first concern.”

 

“Thank you.  Yesterday, Draco Malfoy was attacked in his home and his son was apparently kidnapped.  Since whoever organized this has not issued a ransom request and they apparently tried to kill Mr. Malfoy and his parents, I believe that they do not intend to return the child.  On the top of my suspect list is Mr. Malfoy’s ex-wife, Astoria Greengrass.  Mr. Malfoy told me that he hired you to have her followed, but you lost her trail in Turkey.  I would like to know exactly what information you found.”

 

Achim contemplated what Harry had told him, before rising from his chair and walking to a filing cabinet.  He muttered a few words and waved his wand, before a large file folder extracted itself.  He walked back to the desk, pushing the folder towards Harry.  “Here are my investigative records.  As you can see, it is quite extensive.  This contains photographs, both Muggle and magical.  Please take it, but allow no one but yourself or someone that you trust completely to view the file.  This includes Mr. Malfoy.  I found several bits of interesting information that did not pertain to what he had hired me to do that he might find disturbing.  Please, feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions.”  He handed Harry a business card.  “I can also be contacted by Muggle means as well.”

 

Harry accepted the business card and the folder.  “Thank you so much for your cooperation, Mr. Bitterstein.  I shall be in touch.”

 

Harry quickly walked away from the office, them Disapparated to his office.  As he walked into the building, he saw Ron pacing the hallways.  “Ron.  You got a moment?” he asked his best friend.

 

“I was just coming to find you,” Ron said as he shuddered slightly.  “Merlin, I hate interviewing Slytherins.”

 

Harry raised an eyebrow.  “They give you grief?”

 

“Pansy mostly, but it’s just the conflicting information.  Pansy said that there are a load of people that would want to hurt Malfoy.  Blaise says there is no one he knows that is powerful enough to overcome the wards, but it could be a rogue Death Eaters’ family seeking revenge.  What a mess!”

 

“So, I would guess that it may be somewhere in between their stories,” Harry commented as he held up the folder.  “But, this may shed some insight into it.  Malfoy hired a private investigator to follow Astoria during the divorce.  He lost track of her in Turkey once the divorce was finalized, but this is his record.”

 

Ron got a look of intrigue on his face.  “This could be interesting.”

 

Harry laughed.  “Exactly, mate.  That’s why I’m enlisting you to help me go through the file.  The investigator did tell me not to share any of this info with Malfoy, since it contains interesting tidbits that he never told him.”

 

Ron just grinned as they walked into Harry’s office.  For protection, Harry warded the doors and Floo before opening the file, not wanting anyone to just walk in while they were reading.

 

**H~P**

 

Draco was bored.  After Hermione had left in a rush to tend to her patients, he had completed the list of people who could have possibly In addition to Astoria and Bletchley, he had thought about those whom could have the brains or money to hire someone to do their dirty work.  Three more names had appeared on the list, Victor Krum, Angelo D’Angelo, and Allison Murphy. 

 

Krum was on the list since Lucius had killed his parents.  Angelo D’Angelo was a former member of the board for Malfoy Industries who was unhappy at losing his position, but Draco had hesitated on putting Allison Murphy on the list.  She was a British born Pureblood whose parents had petitioned for her to go the Beauxbatons.  Her family had decided to move to South Africa during Voldemort’s second war.  She and he had dated before she had left in their fifth year.  After Voldemort’s death, when she had returned, she wanted to pick up where they had left off, but with all of the changes that had been brought forth in Draco by the War, he had thought it unwise.  They were both completely different people and he found that they had little in common.  Much to his horror, she had spewed forth prejudices against Muggles and Muggleborn witches and wizards.  That more than anything had gotten her name on the list.

 

Sighing he stared that the list, wishing beyond anything else that he could get healthy enough to instigate the search for his son.  Reality had set in after dozing off for several hours; he had awoken to a pressing need to visit the loo.  Just taking care of that basic bodily function had left him weak and drained.  He winced to think what would happen if Granger found out.  More than likely, she’d read him the riot act for trying to heal too quickly.

 

That thought brought him more confusion.  Whilst he had managed to change his view on Muggleborn witches and wizards, he still thought of her as a bossy know-it-all.  He was exceedingly grateful for her bringing him back from the brink of death, but why the sudden urge to find more out about her?  Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the red-haired Weasley did not seem to be panting after her, like she was a bitch in heat any longer.  He wondered what had happened there, since there was no evidence of a ring on her finger, nor had she changed her name.  Puzzled, he leaned back in his bed and stared at the ceiling.

 

It was in this contemplative pose that his parents found him.  “Draco!” Narcissa said as she walked slowly into the room.  “They had told us that you were still required to be in this horrid place.”

 

“Hello, Mother,” Draco said as he raised his head to look at his parents.  “I know that you think of this as a horrid place, but as it has saved all three of our lives, I am forever grateful that it exists.”

 

Narcissa smiled as she rolled her eyes.  “It’s not that this is a horrible place, but have you seen the décor?  I do believe that I must convince your father to make an endowment so that they can hire a good interior designer.”

 

Behind her Lucius snorted.  “I would make the endowment just because they saved Draco’s life,” he said smoothly as he came to rest behind his wife, concern evident in his eyes.  “How are you feeling, son?”

 

“Angry and frustrated.  I want nothing more than to go racing out of this place to find my son, but the poison that was given to me has made my body fragile.”

 

“Indeed it has, Mr. Malfoy,” Hermione’s calm voice came from behind them.  “Did you sleep at all last night?”

 

Draco watched as she walked in, dark circles underneath her eyes.  “I suspect that I got more than you,” he shot back before holding up the parchment.  “Would you be so kind as to forward this to Potter?”

 

Hermione accepted the list with a curt nod.  “I was actually just coming by to see if there was anything I could do for you before I left.  Your new Healer will be keeping me informed of your progress, until he is certain that you are not going to backslide due to the arsenic.”

 

Draco was taken aback by her terse comments and wondered what had changed her attitude towards him.  “That would be acceptable, Granger.  Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to finish my visit with my parents,” he responded icily.

 

Narcissa held back her smile at spark of fire that appeared in the girl’s eyes.  “Healer Granger?  I would like to offer you my thanks for seeing to it that my son is still alive.  I appreciate it.”

 

Hermione looked her, knowing that the life of her son was important to her.  “You are welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy.  I shall allow you to go back to your visit.  Have a pleasant day,” she said as she left the room wanting nothing more than to sleep for a week.

 

As the three Malfoys watched her leave, Narcissa shared a private smile with Lucius, wondering if he realized how much the girl reminded her of herself when she was young.

 

**~H~P~**

 

It had taken Harry and Ron the better part of six hours to sift through the file that Achim had provided.  By the time they were through, both men were exhausted and starving.  “Fancy dinner?” Ron asked as his stomach growled loudly.

 

“Going to your Mum’s for dinner,” Harry returned.  “We were supposed to go last night, but with everything that happened, Ginny moved it up to today.”  He sighed.  “Why do I feel like I’m beating my head against a wall with this?”

 

“Because face it, neither one of us was ever good at the research.  That was always Mione’s job,” Ron reasoned.  “Look at all the information we have.  It’s disjointed and makes no sense.”

 

Harry managed a smile.  “Okay, so what would Mione do?”

 

“Organize it.  I just wish we could show this to her, because she would have some great insights,” Ron said thinking of how Hermione was able to pull together information to make a theory.

 

“We could always do a timeline?” Harry said thoughtfully.  “I think the problem right now, it that all of the information is split between Muggle and Magical.  But that begs me to wonder why Bitterstein lost track of Astoria once the divorce was finalized.  He doesn’t seem like the type to lose someone and Malfoy had fully intended to keep him on retainer to provide him warning if she came back into the country.”

 

Ron nodded.  “That’s what I don’t get.  When she was discovered, she didn’t even attempt to contact her family.  There were no trips to the ancestral home, no owls to her parents.  It’s as if she knew better than to contact them.  But where was she getting her money from?”  He searched through the papers until she found a picture of Astoria leaving a hotel.  “This is not a cheap hotel; in fact it is one that caters to the upper-crust of Wizarding society.  I’m talking hundreds if not thousands of Galleons a night to stay.”

 

Harry saw where Ron was going with his thought.  “So, if she can’t afford to stay there, then whoever was providing the funds is her accomplice.  We need to see if we can get those records, but we need to be discrete.  And neither one of us is discrete.  I think I’ll send Sebastian.  Can you go and relieve him from guard duty at the hospital?”

 

Ron nodded, grateful that they only had to provide one Auror for protection since the elder Malfoys had been released.  “I’ll grab a bite to eat and then head over there.  I do not know if he will be able to get any information this evening, but do you want him to try tomorrow?”

 

“Have him try tonight and if he is unsuccessful then to try back again tomorrow.  You take over the rest of his shift.  Aaron is supposed to relive him at midnight, so you’ll be stuck there until then.”

 

Ron nodded again.  “Maybe I can convince Mione to have a bite with me.  We haven’t talked in a while and I want to make sure that she’s not overdoing it.”

 

Harry smiled.  Even though Ron and Hermione’s romantic relationship had lasted exactly six months, he was not surprised that Ron still felt the need to care for her.  He knew that the need came from a deeper place, the same place that made him want to make sure that both Ron and Hermione were all right.  Their friendship had only been strengthened by the war and the subsequent defeat of Voldemort.  After the final battle, once they’d had the chance to grieve for those lost, they had realized how stressful that seventh year had been.  Each of them had lost weight and gained permanent circles under their eyes, but both Ron and Harry had worried about the lasting effects on Hermione from being Crucio’d by Bellatrix LeStrange.  Thankfully, after a few months, the nightmares that had plagued them all had started to dissipate, but it left behind a need between the three of them to always make sure the others were okay.  “You go ahead and do that, but if she has finally left the hospital, don’t wake her.  She doesn’t get enough sleep as it is.”

 

“Will do.  Night, Harry.  Have fun at the Burrow.”

 

**H~P**

 

When Ron arrived at St. Mungo’s to replace Sebastian, he found that Hermione had already left.  So he grabbed a bite to eat in the cafeteria then went to the intensive care unit.  As he walked towards Draco’s room, he noticed Sebastian sitting just outside of the door, making sure that no one entered unless authorized.  “Hey Sebastian,” he greeted the man easily.

 

“Hi Ron,” the man answered back.  “What can I do for you?”

 

Ron sighed.  “Harry has an assignment for you.  We have discovered that Astoria Greengrass was living in a rather upscale hotel during the divorce proceedings and would like you to investigate quietly.  See if you can find out who was paying the bills.”

 

Sebastian smiled, knowing that the men trusted him with such a delicate task.  He also knew the reason that neither of them had taken it.  With their celebrity after the war, any inquiries that they made were rather public affairs, since the paparazzi did not want to leave them alone.  Anything needing to be done quietly had to be done by someone with less celebrity.  “Sure.  What hotel?” he asked.

 

“Hotel Merlin,” Ron replied knowing that Harry had made the correct choice in choosing him for the mission.  Sebastian St. Clair was a Half-blood wizard with duel citizenship in both Britain and the United States.  His father had fled the country during Voldemort’s first rein and had fallen in love with a Muggleborn witch from America.  He had been brought up in high society in the southern United States, thus making him perfect for anything that required a more delicate touch with the elite of British Wizarding society.  He could also slip between an American and English accent with ease.

 

“Ah, so I need to be the epitome of British high society then,” Sebastian said knowingly.

 

“It would probably be for the best.  I am here to relieve you of your guard duties for the night to see if you can get the information.  However, with the late hour, Harry doesn’t know if you can, so if you must speak with them tomorrow, then just report back to him.”

 

“Thank you, Ron.  I will do my best,” Sebastian said gratefully as he relinquished his chair. 

 

Ron just nodded as he settled in for a long evening.

 

**~H~P~**

 

In a dark room, the man bowed down before the cloaked figure before him.  “My Lord,” he said out of respect. 

 

“What news do you have?” the cloaked figure asked.

 

“Potter grows suspicious.  He has found out about Hotel Merlin.”

 

The figure swore softly under his breath.  “I told her that was a bad idea.  Cover it up,” the figure growled.

 

The man bowed lowly.  “Of course, My Lord.  Anything else I can do to serve you?”

 

The figure just waved his wand and vanished the man from his sight.

 

**~H~P~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens. Any guesses on who the mysterious cloaked figure is? Virtual cookies to anyone who gets it right!!!


	7. Compromised Information

Harry awoke to the unfamiliar feeling of his girlfriend in his arms.  He smiled softly as he looked down at her, sleeping peacefully on his chest.  _Just a little while now until she comes back home permanently.  When should I propose?_   He mused over this as he thought back to the previous dinner.  Ginny had told Molly and Arthur that she was going to retire from the Harpies and take a job at _The Daily Prophet_.  Molly had reacted predictably; it looked like she started to plan their wedding right there.  Surprisingly enough, it did not give him a panic attack.  He was comfortable with the idea and couldn’t wait for them to make it official.

 

Ginny stirred next to him, lifting her head and looking at him softly.  “Hey, why are you awake?  It’s only half past six?”

 

Harry didn’t respond verbally, instead he just guided her hand down to his manhood before capturing her lips in a searing kiss.  He groaned into her mouth as her hand began to move, applying just the pressure that he needed. 

 

“Someone’s a little eager this morning,” Ginny whispered as his fingers began to play with her nipples.

 

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered in between kisses.

 

Ginny just moaned as his fingers slipped lower, parting her folds with ease.   When his fingers entered her, her back arched and she stilled her hand.

 

Harry took advantage of her distraction and flipped them over, guiding the head of his cock to her wetness.  Keeping eye contact with her, he slowly thrust inside of her, filling her inch by inch.  Once he was sheathed completely, his stilled his hips and looked deeply into her eyes.  “God, I love you so much Ginny,” he said hoarsely.

 

“I love you, too,” Ginny whispered back as she moved her hips, rocking them into his.

 

Harry groaned before he stilled her hips.  “Wait.”

 

Ginny looked into his eyes, her brown meeting his emerald.  “What’s wrong?” she asked fearfully.

 

Harry smiled at her, trying to keep control.  He finally got himself back under control and captured her lips again.  When he drew back, both were panting.  “Ginerva Weasley.  Will you marry me?” he finally asked.

 

Ginny’s eyes widened, but her back arched as she felt him pulse inside of her.  “Fine time for you to ask me that!”  Harry drew back from her, embarrassed, but she stopped him.  Quickly, she reversed their positions, keeping them intimately joined.  Slowly, she began to rock her hips and pulled him into a sitting position and looking into his eyes.  “Harry Potter.  I’ve loved you since I was eleven.  Of course I’ll marry you.  We just can’t tell our kids how you proposed!”

 

Harry smiled widely as she began moving her hips faster.  He knew he was not going to last, so he brought his fingers in between them and began to stroke her bundle of nerves.  Ginny began to keen as he brought her to completion, spilling his seed inside of her a few moments later.  As they settled back in the bed, Harry kept her in his arms.  “We’ll go to Gringotts before I go into work.”

 

Ginny just nodded sleepily, understanding his meaning before both slipped back into a restful sleep.

 

**H~P**

 

Draco awoke from his night’s sleep feeling rested for once.  The Healer that had seen him that morning told him that it was due to his body recovering from the shock.  He was still ordered to stay in the hospital, but he was allowed to move about his room.  He thought back to the previous day, after Granger had left the room in a huff.  He had caught a look between his parents that he didn’t understand and they didn’t seem fit to explain.

 

_“So, Draco,” his father had said.  “What do you think of Healer Granger?  She seems quite…competent to me.”_

_“At least she’s not the swotty little know-it-all from school, Father,” Draco had returned, not knowing where the conversation was heading._

_Lucius smiled.  “So I was correct in assuming that she was in fact, Miss Granger from the so called ‘Golden Trio.’  Interesting.”_

_“And that is interesting why, Father?”_

_“No reason,” Lucius said enigmatically._

_Draco just settled back into his bed, wondering at the change to his father, but not willing to question his line of questioning.  “Potter and Weasley are working on Scorpius’ kidnapping,” he said quietly.  “Granger helped me come up with a list of possible suspects, but something she said bothered me.”_

_Narcissa settled into the chair beside the bed.  “And what was that?”_

_“I think it’s a foreign wizard helping_ _Astoria_ _, but she believes that it is someone from_ _Britain_ _,” Draco admitted._

_“Why?”_

_“Because_ _Astoria_ _would have had to been smuggled into the country in order for me not to find out about it.”_

_Lucius tapped a finger on his lips.  “Both sides seem to make sense.  A foreign wizard would be willing to risk our combined wrath, but would have little resources into smuggling the harlot into the country.  However, a British wizard likely would not want to anger this family.  Perhaps you both are correct?”_

_“You mean there is more than one person helping her?” Draco asked._

_“Perhaps.”_

_“I will have to think on this, Father.”_

_Lucius smiled.  “I would expect nothing less.  You were never one to jump to conclusions Draco.  Now, what can your mother and I do to help you until you are rid of this infernal place?”_

_“I don’t know,” Draco said truthfully._

_“Why don’t you come and stay at the Manor?” Narcissa injected.  “I know that it will be hard to go back to the cottage.”_

_“I will think about it,” Draco assured her, before feeling his eyes began to droop.  He vaguely heard his parents telling him that they would let him rest before saying good-bye before he slipped into dreams that he didn’t understand._

 

He shook his head to clear the memories.  He had to admit that his mother was correct in assuming that it would be difficult for him to return to the cottage without Scorpius.  In doing so, he could be constantly assaulted by memories of the two of them there.  His musings were interrupted by a commotion outside of his door.

 

“Damn it!” he heard a healer growl.  “Why won’t these patients stabilize?  Even Healer Granger couldn’t get them to and the lab is having no luck in identifying the potion that they were trying to make when the explosion occurred.  We’ve already lost three of the nine and the other six don’t look any better.”

 

Draco raised an eyebrow.  _Well, that explains why Granger was looking so put out._   He wondered if that was why she had left the hospital.

 

**~H~P~**

 

When Harry and Ron arrived at the Auror offices, they found Sebastian waiting for them.  Both men nodded to him as they entered Harry’s office.  “What did you find?” Harry asked the Auror.

 

Sebastian settled down in a chair in front of the desk.  “It was as you suspected, Harry.  There was someone else paying for the room.  But I have been unable to track the wizard down.  I at least got a name.  Donatien Francois. Unfortunately, no one at the hotel ever saw him and I have been unable to track this person down.”

 

“Great.  Another dead end,” Ron muttered.

 

“At least we have a name this time,” Harry pointed out.  “Sebastian, I want you to continue tracking this wizard down.  Since the name sounds French, one would reason that he is indeed French, but don’t limit yourself to that country.  He or his parents could have immigrated to another country from France or any French speaking nation.”

 

“Of course.  I’ll keep you posted of my progress,” Sebastian said as he stood.

 

Ron settled in the chair after Sebastian had gone.  “I’m going to see if I can find anything out from the Turkish authorities about where Astoria could have gone once the investigator lost her.  I don’t think I’ll get much, but maybe we can pinpoint to where she went after the divorce.”

 

Harry sighed.  “Good choice.  There have been no ransom demands as of yet and face it, the attack happened three days ago.  I fear that either the child is dead or whoever took him has no intention of returning him.”

 

Ron nodded.  “Personally, I think it is the latter.  If the child was dead, I have a feeling that the body would have shown up by now.  Malfoy’s not going to be happy, you know?”

 

“I know, but we are doing the best we can.  I’m going to continue to looking over this file.  I feel like we are missing something, I just don’t know what,” Harry told him as he pulled the folder back to him.

 

Ron just shook his head as he walked out of Harry’s office towards his own, thinking of any possible contacts that he had to get the information that he wanted.

 

**~H~P~**

 

When Hermione finally awoke, she stretched in her bed, feeling like a cat sunbathing.  Once she had left the hospital, she had made it home with barely enough energy to change into a sleeping shift and collapse on the bed.  She checked the clock when she sat us, not surprised that she had sleep for twelve straight hours.  _At least, I am off the next two days,_ she thought to herself.  She consciously did not think about the poor patients of the potions explosion.  She knew well enough that it was out of her hands.  _Hum.  Maybe I’ll go shopping today.  I’ll have to check with Ginny and see what her plans are.  We haven’t had a girl’s day out in a while._

 

With those thoughts in mind, she scrambled out of her bed to take a shower, only to be interrupted by a pecking owl at her window.  She recognized it was Ares, Harry’s new Tawny Owl.  Whilst he missed Hedwig enormously, he realized with all the correspondence that he wrote, he needed a new owl.  So shortly after defeating Voldemort, he acquired Ares.  He was aptly named after the Greek god of war since he could be very formidable.

 

She opened the door, an owl treat in hand.  “Hey, Ares.  Do you have something for me?” she asked calmly as the bird settled on the footboard of her bed and stuck out its leg.”  She quickly untied the parchment and offered the treat to the owl.  Quickly, she unrolled the paper and saw Ginny’s offer of a girl’s day out.  _Great minds,_ she thought with a smile.  Quickly, she scribbled back her reply and retied it to Ares, who seemed to be waiting.  “Take this back to Ginny, please.”  The owl gave a soft hoot and shot out the window.

 

A few hours later, the girls were meeting up at the Leaky Caldron for a late lunch.  Hermione looked her friend over and tried not to squeal as she saw the ring on her left hand.  “Oh my God.  He actually proposed!” she said quietly as she looked at the stunning ruby and diamond ring.

 

Ginny nodded as she blushed and just guided Hermione back to what Tom had dubbed their table.  It was in a corner and not visible from the door to allow them privacy.  “He did!” Ginny gushed in excitement.  “I am so glad he finally did.  It proves to me that I made the correct choice in retiring from the Harpies.”

 

Hermione nodded as Tom set Shepard’s Pie and two glasses of Earl Grey in front of them.  “So,” she began.  “Tell me all about it.”

 

Ginny shook her head.  “Trust me.  You don’t want to know the details.  We were having a rather…erm…intimate moment at the time.”

 

Hermione’s eyes grew wide.  She had begged Ginny not to tell her about her and Harry’s sex life, since Harry felt so much like a brother to her.  “Really?  Wow.”  She studied the happiness etched on her friend’s face.  “So, what do you want to do today?”

 

Ginny smirked.  “Full spa treatment.  On me at Aphrodite’s Delight.”

 

Hermione looked at her shocked.  “They have a two year waiting list!”

 

Ginny just smirked.  “It’s good being an internationally known Quidditch player.  They had a cancellation that they were more than willing to let me fill.  Just think about it.  A massage, manicure, pedicure, facial.  I’m relaxing just thinking about it.”

 

“God, me too.  After the last couple of days, I could use the rest.”

 

Ginny studied the brown haired witch.  “What happened?  This can not be about Malfoy, can it?”

 

Hermione shook her head.  “No, although I was a slightest bit rude to him.  We lost three patients last night and stand to lose the other six if the potions lab cannot figure out what they were trying to create.”

 

“Oh, Mione.  I’m so sorry,” Ginny said as she patted Hermione’s hand. 

 

Hermione sighed.  “That’s part of being a Healer.  As much as you want to save them all, you can’t.”  She shook herself out of the memories and looked down at both of their plates.  “Since we seem to be done eating, shall we leave?”

 

Ginny glanced at her watch.  “Yes, the appointment’s in half an hour and we don’t want to be late.  International Quidditch player or not, we’ll lose the appointment if we are.”

 

Hermione just smiled as they both stood and left some Galleons on the table before entering Diagon Alley.

 

**~H~P~**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I went to write smut and ended up with a marriage proposal! Have no idea how it happened, but I hope y’all like it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and put the story on alert! Please read and review…It feeds the muse! (Think of the movie Little Shop of Horrors. My muse is saying, “Feed me, Seymour.” :p


	8. No news is good news, right?

Draco sighed as he tugged his robes back into place.  He was of mixed feelings.  On one hand, he was relieved to be leaving the hospital, but then again by doing so he was going to have to face the reality that Scorpius was gone.  He had accepted his parent’s offer to stay at the Manor knowing that being at the cottage would drive him to insanity.  It was now Saturday, 5 October and his son had been missing for four days.  Logically, he knew that the more time that passed; the less likely it was that he would be returned to him, but his heart refused to let him believe that.

 

As he finally got his robes in order, the new Healer that had been assigned to him walked in.  “Ah, Mr. Malfoy.  Ready to go?” the brown haired man queried.  Draco just raised an eyebrow.  “Well, then.  Here are your discharge papers.  Please, if anything unusual happens, come back in immediately and either myself or Healer Granger will see you.”

 

Draco nodded as he accepted the paperwork.  “Thank you, Healer Devonshire,” he said as he swept out of the room.  _Thank Merlin I’m free of this place.  Wondered whatever happened to Granger, though.  Maybe I’ll stop by the emergency department to tell her…Get a grip, Malfoy.  Since when did you start thanking people for doing their_ job?  His internal soliloquy had taken him to the doors to the hospital and with one final shake of his head; he stepped out into the bright sunlight to Apparate to Malfoy Manor.

 

Once at the Manor, the House Elves fussed over him until he finally sent them away with a curt order.  Only Willa saw fit to stay behind.  “Willa?  Why won’t you go?” Draco asked, running out of patience. 

 

The little Elf just smiled.  “Mistress Narcissa said that Willa must stay and watch over you, Master Draco.”

 

“I should have known Mother had something to do with it,” Draco muttered under his breath as he wrote a short note on a piece of parchment.  “Fine, then you can run an errand for me.  I wish to speak to Blaise Zabini.  Deliver this to him and once he has arrived, direct him to my study.”

 

Willa nodded emphatically.  “Of course.  Willa will go right now,” she responded as she snapped her fingers. 

 

Draco made his way into his study, settling down in a deep green arm chair to stair at the fire.  No more than ten minutes had passed when the Elf popped back in with his best mate.  “Some refreshments, please,” Draco told the Elf, who quickly left again.

 

“Draco, glad to see you are feeling better,” Blaise commented as he settled in the other arm chair.  “I take it you want to see if I have any information.”

 

Draco nodded before looking at his friend, eyes ablaze in fury.  “I want more than that, Blaise.  I want to hunt the bastards down that did this and get my son back.”

 

Blaise smirked as he leaned back.  “Certainly.  I have rechecked our sources and Astoria as not reappeared in Britain.  There also have been no unusual magic signatures that would lead us to believe that Scorpius was smuggled out of the country.”  He snorted in laughter.  “Can you believe that Potter believes that the child is overseas?  Preposterous.”

 

“What makes you say that?” Draco commented.

 

“The very act of smuggling a child out of the country after all of the restrictions that recently have been enforced would be extremely expensive and dangerous,” Blaise said calmly.  “Both the Muggle and Magical worlds have stepped up security after the attacks in America, my friend.  As a result, I can be almost certain that whoever took Scorpius did not take him overseas.  They are probably hiding out in Scotland or Ireland.”

 

Draco nodded, knowing that Blaise was the best at corporate security.  After they had graduated from Hogwarts, Draco had joined Malfoy Industries and brought Blaise with him.  Soon, his best mate was running the security department with efficiency.  They had saved thousands of Galleons and increased security to an all time high.  “I want the best team you can put together, Blaise.  I’m going to get my son back.”

 

“Of course, Draco.  Now, if you will excuse me, I’ll go assemble the team together and we will find him.”

 

Draco only returned his gaze to the fire in contemplation as Blaise left the room.

 

**~H~P~**

 

When Hermione arose on Saturday morning, she stretched languidly in her queen size bed.  Wondering what she could do with her last day off for a week, she decided that she hadn’t had a proper conversation with either Ron or Harry in weeks.  The girl’s day out with Ginny the previous day, had done wonders for her relaxation, whilst making a considerable dent in her bank account.  She didn’t mind, although once Ginny moved back to England permanently, she would have to be careful when they went shopping.  Otherwise, she’d end up broke.

 

Plans forming in her mind, she quickly got up to take a quick shower and dress for a casual lunch.  It only took her an hour to get ready, so she quickly set her wards and Disapparated to the Ministry.

 

She quickly walked through the quiet halls of the Ministry, most workers not working on the weekend.  When she finally made it to the Auror’s office, the sudden noise took her by surprise.  With a wry twist to her lips she thought, _crime never sleeps._   She stepped between the desks with practiced ease and came to Harry’s office.  She knocked lightly before opening the door.  “Hey!” she greeted both Harry and Ron, who were reviewing some papers on his desk.

 

Both men looked up, startled at her appearance.  “Mione!” they both exclaimed.  Ron jumped up and gestured for her to take his chair.  “What are you doing here?” Ron asked.

 

“Oh, I thought that I stop by and see how you two are doing and also congratulate Harry,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

 

“Congratulate Harry for what?” Ron queried.

 

Hermione just raised an eyebrow.  “You mean you haven’t told him?” she questioned Harry, who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

 

“I proposed to Ginny,” Harry said quietly.

 

Ron looked as if he had been gob smacked.  “What!  What’d she say?”

 

“Ronald,” Hermione cut in with an eye roll.  “She obviously said yes if I’m congratulating him.”

 

“Congrats, mate!  Now, I do feel impelled to tell you that if you ever hurt her, you’ll wish that Voldemort was still alive,” Ron cautioned with a grin.

 

“Thanks,” Harry said with a grin.

 

Hermione, in the meantime, was taking a look at the papers spread across Harry’s desk.  “What is all of this?”

 

“The file from Malfoy’s investigator.  We’re trying to see if we can put anything together.”

 

Hermione nodded as she pulled the papers towards her.  “Well, she certainly got around.”

 

Ron looked confused.  “What do you mean?”

 

Hermione smiled.  “Look at all of these pictures.  She doesn’t look like a woman who is in the middle of a messy divorce.  She looks like a debutante that is shopping for her ball.  And these are Muggle stores, too.  Dolce, Versace, Louis Vuitton.  These are not cheap places to shop.  I’m assuming that Malfoy and her family both cut her off, so where did she get the money—Muggle money—to pay for it?”

 

Harry nodded his head.  “That’s what we are trying to figure out.  She was staying Hotel Merlin and the room was reserved under the name Donatien François.”

 

Hermione cocked her head to the side.  “Where have I heard that name before?” she mused softly as she thought back.

 

Harry and Ron looked at each other, identical smirks on their faces.  They knew that if someone could put this together, it would be her.  Patiently they sat back, waiting for some little known fact to spring to her mind.

 

“Oh!  I remember.  It was in one of my healing classes.  We were dealing with healing injuries that were inflicted through sexual means.”

 

Ron’s mouth fell open in shock.  “You were what?  How can you be hurt by sex?”

 

Hermione giggled.  “BDSM?”  She watched their faces and when it was obvious that they had not caught the reference, she clarified, “Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism.”

 

“What?” both men said in confusion.  “How do you get that from a name?”

 

Hermione rolled her eyes.  “Easy.  Donatien Alphonse François was the Marquis de Sade.  That’s were the term Sadism came from.  He is most famous for his erotic novels that explored sexual fantasies combined with violence.  Hence the word Sadism.  It refers directly to him.  My guess is that the person was using this name was both making a statement and trying to cover whomever’s tracks to make it more difficult to determine their true identity.”

 

Both of them still had identical looks of bewilderment on their faces, but Harry finally managed to ask, “What kind of statement?”

 

Hermione sighed.  “My best guess would be that of a master and a slave.  By using that name, he—and I am fairly certain that you will be looking for a male—is asserting his dominance over Astoria.  Doesn’t look like she minds it one bit, though,” she said as she gestured to one of the Wizarding photos of Astoria shopping in a carefree manner.

 

“Bloody hell.  This just keeps getting weirder,” Ron muttered under his breath.

 

“Why do we get all the strange cases?” Harry mused while trying to process this new information.  Finally, he began to think aloud, “Okay.  So, this will definitely help to narrow the suspect list down.  Gregory Goyle does not have the brains or the subtlety to carry something like this off.  This is something that requires a lot of money and careful planning.”

 

“And we all know that he was not one for careful planning,” Ron interjected.

 

“This is someone that knows them, personally,” Hermione concurred.  “In order to build the master/slave relationship to the point of arrogance, she had to have been seduced over time.”

 

“So that lets out any foreign wizards.”  Harry shook his head.  “Like it or not, I need to speak to Malfoy and get some more insight into what exactly was going on in their marriage.  Is Malfoy still in the hospital?” he asked Hermione.

 

“I don’t know.  He was scheduled to be released today, so I would assume that unless something out of the ordinary occurred, he was.”

 

Keeping that in mind, Harry quickly scrawled a note onto a piece of parchment.  “We’ll drop this off with an owl and then go to lunch.  I’m requesting that Malfoy meet us here at two, so we can try to unravel more of this.” 

 

**~H~P~**

 

When the trio got back from lunch, they found Draco Malfoy waiting for them impatiently in Harry’s office.  “You call me for a meeting and are not even here?  That’s courteous of you, Potter,” he scowled as they walked in.

 

Harry just raised an eyebrow.  “Really, Malfoy.  I did say two and it is just half past one now.”

 

“Boys, please don’t fight,” Hermione said with a smirk as she conjured another chair for herself.  “Please, we do have important business and really, Harry.  I do think you should ward your office better.”

 

Both men had the grace to blush as Hermione waved her wand and shut the door before erecting wards to ensure their privacy.  Once done, she settled back in her chair for what was sure to be an interesting meeting.

 

Sighing, Harry looked at Malfoy.  “I asked you here because we have come to some conclusions about who might be working with Astoria.  I feel I must ask you some questions in order to confirm our suspicions.”

 

“Continue,” Draco said drolly. 

 

“Did both yourself and the Greengrasses cut financial support to Astoria once her affair was discovered?”

 

Draco nodded.  “Yes.  The magic in the prenuptial agreement that she signed was meant for immediate enforcement.  Once I caught her…fucking Goyle…she was immediately denied access to the Malfoy’s Gringott’s vault as well as her family was prevented from giving her monetary help.”  He looked at the assembled group.  “Why is that important?”

 

Harry sighed again.  “Mr. Bitterstein snapped many photographs of her shopping in high end Muggle clothing stores.”

 

“Where could she have gotten the money?  Did she set some aside?  Did you give her a monthly allowance?” Ron asked.

 

Draco shook his head.  “No.  She was allowed free access to our gold, but after the incident, our goblin accountant thoroughly went through the transactions.  She billed everything to the vault and never took out actual coins.”

 

“Curious, then,” Hermione said quietly.  “With the nature of what we had discovered, it would have taken a long time to build the kind of relationship that we suspect.  This had to have been going on years at the minimum.”

 

Draco looked at her in confusion.  “What relationship?”

 

Hermione didn’t immediately answer his question, but issued one of her own.  “Did Astoria express an interest in role playing in the bedroom?”

 

“What in the bloody hell kind of question is that, Granger?” Draco shot back.

 

“An important one, Malfoy,” she responded calmly.  “Please answer the question.  The sooner we can figure this out, the sooner we can find Scorpius.  Or do you need to be reminded that the likelihood of finding a missing child drops considerably with each day that passes?”

 

Draco sat forward, properly rebuked and settled his head in his hand.  “No.  She was not at all adventurous in the bedroom,” he said quietly.

 

“Interesting,” Hermione murmured.

 

Ron and Harry looked at her, but it was the Ron who broke the uneasy silence.  “What are you thinking, Mione?”

 

“If she was truly involved in a master/slave relationship, then it was going on during her marriage.  Most women do like to try new things in the bedroom when they are new to a relationship.  I doubt even pureblood women are immune to that.  It is quite possible that this relationship was instigated before they got married.”

 

“Why?” Harry wondered.

 

Hermione smirked.  “Harry.  Ginny and I talk.  That first year after you two became sexually involved?  Let’s just say Ginny did not spare many details.  That time is all about building the relationship and finding out what pleases your partner most.”

 

Harry could feel the heat building in his cheeks.  He was certain that his face resembled Ron’s hair.  “Bloody best friends,” he muttered, wondering if he could ever look her in the face again as Ron sputtered in indignation. 

 

“Oi!  I didn’t need to hear that!”

 

“Me neither,” Draco muttered.

 

“That is beside the point.  If Astoria truly loved Draco and by all that we’ve come to realize so far, she acted as if she did, then that time would have been for experimentation.  So obviously, she was experimenting elsewhere and I do not believe it was with Goyle.  So, now we must ask.  Who has the funds, the brains and the sheer Slytherin sneakiness to engineer such a plot?”

 

The four people in the room looked at each other as they lapsed into silence trying to figure out that very riddle.

 

**~H~P~**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So anyone have an idea who this person could be? I think that it’s obvious, but since I’m the one writing the story, I’m not a good judge of this type of thing. Lol. Even my beta knew who it was before I sent her this chapter since I’ve talked out the plot with her. :p You know the drill, please review!


	9. All Hallows Eve

The weeks leading up to the Ministry Halloween ball were frustrating.  Harry, Ron and the Auror team did not have any luck on deciphering who Donatien Francois was nor in getting a lead on Astoria Greengrass.  The Turkish Aurors were blocking their attempts to further investigate where she could have gone in Turkey.  They almost sighed in relief when the ball came around since it would give them an excusable break from the case.

 

Needless to say, Draco was not happy with their lack of progress.  His own investigative team, lead by Blaise, was having no more luck than the Aurors, leading to many heated conversations between the two men.  When Draco had gotten the invitation to the ball, he had immediately tried to decline, but during one argument with Blaise, the dark skinned man had told him that by not going, it would diminish his image with whoever had kidnapped his son.  Grudgingly, he agreed to go.

 

Hermione’s potion’s patients had finally stabilized, although when she found out what potion that they had been trying to create, she had wanted to hex them back into unconsciousness.  _Felix Felicis._   She had rolled her eyes since the combination of powdered moonstone and rose quartz could be a dangerous one.  To top it all off, what they had gotten was not powdered moonstone, but diatomaceous earth laced with nitroglycerin.  She had shuddered at the thought, remembering from her Muggle chemistry that the combination of those ingredients made up two-thirds the recipe for dynamite.  Someone had made a dangerous error.  She was looking forward to the ball, since it would be a good excuse to relax for a moment.

 

When the Halloween ball came around, Hermione found herself at Grimmauld place with Ginny and Luna, getting ready.  It was to be a masquerade ball.  Muggle attire was mandatory, so the girls had been planning all month for what they were going to wear.  When the decision had been made, each had decided on the black and white theme. 

 

Hermione was wearing a black velvet evening gown with rhinestone clasps on the shoulder straps.  It had an Empire-waist and full skirt.  Her mask was crushed velvet with silver filigree that detailed around the outside of the mask and around the eyes; it had a matching rhinestone detail.

 

Ginny’s dress was a white halter dress with a beaded empire-waist.  It had a square neckline and highlighted her tanned and toned upper body.  Her mask was a simple white mask with feathers on the right-hand side.

 

Luna had combined the two colors.  Her dress was a strapless white dress with black detailing on the top part.  Starting after the waist, it graded down to a full black ball gown skirt.  She had an unadorned silver mask with a back top hat resting on her blonde hair.

 

The girls giggled once they were ready to walk down the stairs.  “We look amazing,” Ginny gushed.  “Harry and Ron aren’t going to know what hit them.”

 

Hermione rolled her eyes.  “As long as Ron doesn’t think that this means we are going to be a couple again.”

 

“Oh, no.  You’re auras tell a different story, Hermione.  Your aura is a deep forest green, which doesn’t go with Ronald’s orange aura.  You are not going to be anything more than friends,” Luna said dreamily.

 

Hermione just looked at Ginny and raised an eyebrow.  “Thanks, Luna,” she replied as she heard Harry and Ron begin to call to them.  “We had better not keep the boys waiting.”

 

As they decided the staircase, both Harry and Ron were silent.  Finally, Harry managed to find his voice.  “Wow, Ginny.  You look amazing.”  Ginny smiled as she walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss.

 

Ron held out his hands to both Hermione and Luna.  “I guess since Harry gets to escort Ginny, it’s my duty to escort you lovely ladies.”

 

Hermione took a chance to study both him and Harry.  They were both wearing black tuxedos.  Harry had a white vest underneath his and Ron’s vest was black.  Both were wearing simple black masks over their faces.  “You guys look good, too,” she complimented them.

 

The group quickly Apparated to the Ministry ballroom and presented their invitations to the Auror on duty.  Once inside, they saw that the Ministry had decorated in a tasteful manner for once, with rich gold, red, green and blue hues permeating the atmosphere.  The tables were small, each only seating six people, with either gold or silver table linens.  When the group walked up to their table, they were happy to see that they were all sitting together.

 

“Wonder who the sixth person is?” Ron queried before walking around the table to see the placard.  “Great, it’s Malfoy.”

 

“You make that sound like a bad thing, Weasley,” a voice drawled from behind him.

 

Ron turned around to find Draco standing behind him in a silver suit with a green vest and tie.  His mask was silver as well.  “Malfoy,” Ron managed to say.

 

Draco looked at the people standing around the table.  He could easily identify Harry and Ginny from their hair, since Harry’s still would not lay flat and there was no mistaking the trademark red hair of the Weasleys.  His assumed that the brunette with dark curls was Hermione, but he could not pinpoint who the blonde was.  Smirking, he walked up to Hermione.  “Granger.  I must say that you do clean up well.”

 

Hermione felt a frisson of desire run up her arm where he had captured her hand and brought it to his lips.  “I am happy to know that you are back to your usual charming self, Malfoy,” she responded with a matching smirk.

 

“All thanks to you,” he said quietly enough so she would be the only one to hear.  “I never got to say thank you for saving my life.”

 

“You’re welcome,” she murmured back.

 

Realizing where they were, he turned to Luna.  “I don’t believe that we have met.”

 

Luna smiled softly.  “Yes, we have Draco Malfoy.  I must say that your aura is particularly interesting.  I have never seen a silver aura before.”

 

It took him a moment before he realized who she was.  “Loony Lovegood.”

 

Luna nodded as she settled into her seat in between Ron and Draco.  “I do believe they are about to serve dinner.”

 

The group looked around and found she was correct.  Servers were appearing carrying trays of food.  Hermione took her seat in between Draco and Harry, while Ginny sat between Harry and Ron. 

 

The six of them settled back to enjoy the feast, with pleasant conversation for the most part.  The one time Ron had insulted Draco had resulted in a swift elbow to the ribs from Ginny and a cross look from Hermione.  Luckily, dessert was served in swift order and the insult was forgotten.

 

After dessert, the group stood whilst the tables rearranged themselves around the dance floor.  Harry bowed slightly to Ginny and said, “May I have this dance?”

 

Ginny giggled and together they swept onto the dance floor, to begin a waltz.  Ron and Luna followed and Hermione spared a concerned thought for Luna’s feet since Ron still wasn’t that much of a dancer.  She grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing server and took a sip as Draco settled next to her.  “Why are you not dancing with the Weasel?”

 

Hermione grinned.  “First, I like my feet too much and secondly, we are not a couple.  I actually like Luna for Ron, if he would just wake up and see what she could offer him.”

 

Draco raised an eyebrow at her response.  “Indeed, they do make a pair,” he responded calmly.  “Since you are unaccompanied this evening, would you like to dance?”  He almost took back the words as he said them, not knowing exactly why he had offered.

 

Hermione looked at him before setting her glass down.  “I would love to, Mr. Malfoy,” she accepted as he took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

 

They joined the couples that were waltzing around the dance floor and Hermione thought to offer a low warning, “I’m not really a good dancer.”

 

Draco just smirked.  “All you have to do is follow my lead and you will be fine,” he said with assurance.

 

Nodding her head once, she did as she was told and soon they were making their way around the dance floor smoothly.  Once she was comfortable enough, she glanced up and into his grey eyes, realizing how much he had actually changed since leaving school.  They danced for a couple of songs, until Hermione finally pled that her feet were killing her and then retired to their table with Harry and Ginny.

 

When they had settled down into their seats, Ginny looked at the pair with a twinkle in her eyes.  “Draco, I did not know you could dance so well.”

 

Draco smiled.  “It was at my mother’s insistence that I learn to dance.”  He glanced around the room, wondering when it would be acceptable to leave, but since the Minister had yet to address the room, he knew that he could not yet.  “So, I know that Granger here is a Healer, Potter is an Auror, but what are you doing?” he asked Ginny.

 

Ginny smiled.  “I’m a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies right now, but I’m retiring and will become the new Quidditch Correspondent for _The Daily Prophet_ after this season is up.  What about you?”

 

“I am helping to run Malfoy Industries with my father.  He would like to retire in the upcoming few years, so he is making sure that I know how to run the business.”  He paused as he took a sip of his champagne.  “I actually am enjoying it, much to my surprise.”

 

Ginny smiled as Ron and Luna made their way back to the table.  “I see that you left her feet intact, Ron,” Ginny quipped as the couple sat down.

 

“Ronald is a wonderful dancer,” Luna said in her normal dreamy voice.  “It was as if fairies were guiding us around the floor.”

 

The rest of the group just looked at each other, each one trying to swallow laughter.  “I’m glad you enjoyed it, Luna,” Ron answered her, oblivious to the mirth around him.  “Maybe we can do that again sometime.”

 

“Oh, most definitely,” Luna answered with a smile before returning her attention to the others seated.  “Did you know that the veil between life and death is at its weakest on the night of All Hallows Eve?  This is when the most prophesies are made.  Professor Trelawney said I should be having my first prophesy soon.  I do hope that it is this evening.  That would be wondrous.”

 

Hermione snorted in derision.  “No offense Luna, but Professor Trelawney is a bit of a fraud.”

 

“Oh, I know this.  The gift is not as strong in her as it could be.  Years of imbibing too much alcohol has dulled her senses, but the gift is still there.  You should not take it lightly.”

 

Properly rebuked, Hermione settled back in just as Kingsley Shacklebolt made his way until the podium to make his annual speech.  “Honored Witches and Wizards, welcome to the annual Halloween Ball.”  Hermione tuned the rest of the speech out, since it basically a political move to inform everyone of the state of the Ministry of Magic.  She was well versed in the state of the Ministry since the Order of the Phoenix still met regularly.   When the speech was finally over, she clapped politely with the rest of the ballroom.  She was just about to rise to leave when Luna gasped.

 

The table turned towards her, her eyes taking on a milky quality and her voice a little deeper as she began to speak. “ _Evil Power across Time has traveled.  Bindings on the Four Beasts unraveled.  As Darkness approaches, the Elements shall Rise.  Heaven trembles with blood red skies.  Former enemies, a common link.  Friendships shattered in a blink.  The path to light, guided through Time.  To make evil pay for its heinous crimes.”_

 

The five other people at the table looked at each other, each wearing an expression of disbelief.  “Dear god.  What calamity is to befall us next?” Hermione breathed softly as the hairs on the back of her next stood on end.

 

**~H~P~**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So I have totally taken liberties with the Felix Felicis potion. Since the only known ingredient is honey, I made my own recipe. There are seven ingredients (since 7 is a lucky number) and they are: Honey, a rabbit’s foot, powdered moonstone, a four leaf clover, a shark’s tooth, a ladybug and rose quartz. The information on dynamite was found on wikipedia. You can go to my author page and see pictures of the girl’s dresses and masks.
> 
> Hermione's dress: http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/TheSexyMuggleLibrarian/The%20Four%20Horsemen/Hermionesdress.jpg
> 
> Hermione's mask: http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/TheSexyMuggleLibrarian/The%20Four%20Horsemen/Hermionesmask.jpg
> 
> Ginny's dress: http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/TheSexyMuggleLibrarian/The%20Four%20Horsemen/Ginnysdress.jpg
> 
> Ginny's mask: http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/TheSexyMuggleLibrarian/The%20Four%20Horsemen/Ginnysmaks.jpg
> 
> Luna's outfit: http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l481/TheSexyMuggleLibrarian/The%20Four%20Horsemen/Luna.jpg
> 
> Note: Luna's outfit is the outfit that Tami was wearing at the black and white ball in "Another Cinderella Story".


	10. A Mother's Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, y’all. These next two chapters will hopefully answer some questions (which many of you may have figured part of it out by now!). As always, please read and review. The reviews feed my muse (which is a very hungry dragon right now) and may help me get past my writer’s block!!

“The time draws near,” the figure in the cloak said, looking at the ceiling that was enchanted to show nothing by the dark night sky.  “We have a month until the eclipse and much to do.”

 

The three other people occupying the room bowed their heads slightly in respect.  “What do you want us to do, Blaise?” Pansy Parkinson asked.  “How are we supposed to become all powerful; so powerful that even Gods would tremble at our feet?”

 

Blaise Zabini smiled darkly.  “Knowledge is power, my dear.  Don’t you want to see Draco in shackles, Astoria?”

 

The blonde witch looked up.  “That would be enjoyable, Master.”

 

Blaise laughed.  “He is running around like a madman, searching for Scorpius, never suspecting that he is right under his nose.  I trust the boy is not giving you any problems?”

 

Astoria shook her head.  “No, Master.  He is with me and he knows that I love him.  I would never harm him.”  She shuddered when she saw a dark look cross his eyes and was grateful when he redirected his attention to Pansy. 

 

“Pans, I need you to acquire the following ingredients: Acromantula venom, Salamander Blood, powdered Griffin claw and wormwood.  We need to have this no later than the twenty-third of November.  The potion must steep for ten days before adding the final ingredient.”

 

“What is the final ingredient, Blaise?” the fourth person spoke up.  “You are being very secretive about it.  If we are meant to rule the world together, you need to share all your information.”

 

Blaise looked at Gregory Goyle, Jr. in surprise.  He had not expected any questions from him.  “I will let you know.”

 

Goyle got a defiant look on his face.  “No, Blaise.  I let Draco push me around and I’m not going to let you do the same thing.  I think it’s time you let us in on the plan and where you got this plan.”

 

Pansy and Astoria held their breaths as Goyle confronted Blaise.   Finally, Blaise relented.  “The final ingredient is the blood of direct relative of yours.  You must kill that person, and then add the blood to the potion before you drink in.”

 

Gasps sounded throughout that room and suddenly Astoria understood the dark look that had crossed Blaise’s eyes.  He wanted her to kill her son.  She bit her lip in horror and knew that she could not confront him.  He had performed a slave spell on her and she was unable to counteract wishes directly, instead she shot a horror-filled look at Pansy as they exited the room.

 

Once the two women arrived at her chambers, Astoria broke down in tears.  “I can’t do it, Pans.  I can’t kill Scorpius.  What can I do?  He’ll force me to do it if I refuse!”

 

Pansy wrapped her arms around the blonde woman.  “Shh.  We’ll think of something,” she said soothingly as she fought the urge to hex Blaise.  _Damn it!  He’s a bloody idiot.  He_ knows _how much she loves her son.  How can she expect her to kill him?  Merlin, another bloody mess that I’m going to have to figure a way out of.  I wonder if I can find the book where he got the potion from._   “Listen, Blaise may be smart, but he had to get this potion from somewhere.  If you can distract him, maybe I can check his quarters and find it.  I promise that I’ll do everything I can to prevent this from happening.”

 

Astoria sniffed.  “Thanks.  What about you?  Who can you kill?”

 

Pansy grimaced.  “If I must, it’ll be my older sister, Paradisea.  She is dying anyway, so I can make it painless for her.”

 

Astoria wiped her face.  “I didn’t know that.  I’m so sorry, Pans.”

 

Pansy smiled.  “We’ve had a while to get used to it.  When she rejected the Dark Lord’s sexual advances, he cursed her with _Tardus Nex._ ” 

 

“What’s that?” Astoria asked.

 

“It’s a curse that kills the person slowly over a five year period.  We’ve researched and had the best Healers in the world try to reverse it, but it’s irreversible.  She only has a couple of months to live,” Pansy said quietly.

 

“Oh God.  That’s abominable.  Are we making the right choice?  I’m scared, Pans.  This doesn’t seem right.”

 

Pansy bit her lip.  “We can’t back out.  Blaise will kill us if we do that.” 

 

“And we don’t even know what this spell is supposed to do.  How is it going to give us the power to rule the world?” Astoria wondered.

 

“I don’t know.  We must find that book.”

 

“I’ll distract Blaise for you this evening,” Astoria promised her.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Later that night, after Astoria pulled Blaise into her room, Pansy crept cautiously into Blaise’s suite of rooms.  She was careful about the wards, making sure that she didn’t accidentally set off any alarms and breathed a sigh of relief.  She walked around the room, noticing that he had charmed his ceiling to show the night sky and shook her head at the notion.  Quickly, she walked towards the bookcases and began to scan the titles. 

 

The books were as she had expected.  Many of them focusing on the Dark Arts, but there were some surprises.  He had books upon books of Muggle history, starting with books about Mao Tse-Tung, Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin.  She shook her head.  After Voldemort had been overthrown, she had looked into the history in the Muggle world and she recognized the names of the worst dictators and rulers in history.  She browsed some more and recognized the names of dictators from Germany, Belgium, China, North Korea and Iraq as well.

 

“Oh, Blaise.  What are you doing?” she breathed softly.

 

She scanned the titles, but none of them seemed to be of the type that would include a Dark Ritual that Blaise had described.  She walked around the sitting room, looking for other books, but found nothing.  Sighing, she decided to try the bedroom.  The room was just as dark as the sitting room, the ceiling charmed to show a total solar eclipse.  Looking around, she found a leather-bound book.  Quickly, she opened it and scanned the pages, only to realize that it was in Old English.  Taking out her wand, she quickly muttered a spell and a duplicate of the book appeared beside it. 

 

Smiling, she pocketed the copy and quickly exited the rooms.

 

**H~P**

 

Astoria shuddered as Blaise finally took his leave of her.  As always, the pleasure and pain that he left her with kept her mind in turmoil.  Their relationship had started off like any other, she as a fourth-year, him as a powerful sixth-year.  She had been ecstatic when he had begun to flirt with her, his dark charm making her shiver in excitement, but when Voldemort fell, he had grown even darker.  She knew that he had placed the Imperius Curse on her before he had left that year, only to place her under the slave spell that bound her to his will.  She knew that even if she wanted to stop whatever he was doing, there was no way around it.

 

Sighing, she climbed into the bathtub and tried to scrub herself clean.  When she finally walked back into her bedroom, she found Pansy sitting in a chair and new sheets on her bed.  “Thanks,” she said softly as she jerked her head towards the new sheets.  “Did you find anything?”

 

Pansy nodded.  “Yes.  I found a book in Old English on his nightstand.  It was a simple duplication and translation spell later that I found the answers.”  She paused with a Malfoy-like smirk on her face.

 

Astoria raised an eyebrow.  “And…”

 

“And there is a way around killing Scorpius.  Blaise must have translated it by hand because one of the words was illegible.  It calls for either the blood of a direct relative, which means a parent, sibling or child, or for you to sacrifice your own blood.  The passage that had the difference in it was smudged.”

 

Astoria smiled until she thought about Blaise’s reaction to a live Scorpius.  “We’ve got to convince him that Scorpius is dead, though.”

 

Pansy nodded.  “I thought about that when you were in the bath.  It’s easy.  Draught of Living Death.  We can give that to him, make a cut on his arm, then once Blaise is convinced of his death, I’ll take him to my old nanny in Scandinavia.  She can keep him safe.”

 

“Why not just take him back to Draco?  He’d keep him safe as well,” Astoria queried quietly.

 

“And Blaise would find out that he was still alive,” Pansy reasoned.

 

“Oh.  Bloody hell.”  Astoria thought about it for a while before nodding her head.  “Okay.  Let’s do it, but why are you helping me?”

 

“I won’t stand for the death of a child,” Pansy said so quietly that Astoria almost didn’t hear her.  “I’ll be in touch.”

 

Astoria watched with a flutter of hope as Pansy left her room.

 

**H~P**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So notes on this chapter. One, Tardus Nex means slow death in Latin. Also, I researched dictators in history and Mao Tse-Tung, Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin were each responsible for a minimum of 20 million dead for each of them. Scary, huh? As for the other ones that I mention (not by name) are each responsible for at least 1 million deaths each. Those are, Kaiser Wilhelm II (Germany), King Leopold II (Belgium), President Chiang Kai-shek (China), President Kim II Sung (North Korea) and President Saddam Hussein (Iraq). Thus ends the history lesson. :p


	11. When Day Turns to Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. To get caught up with what I already have posted on FF.net, I am posting 4 chapters a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday until I reach where I am there. Once there, I will post one chapter a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday until all 34 chapters are posted!

Pansy and Astoria prepared quietly during the next month.  Pansy was able to acquire all the ingredients that Blaise had requested as well as the Draught of Living Death.  Together the two women had come up with a plan whilst listening to the fanatical ramblings of both Blaise and Goyle.  Both men seemed to embrace the darkness for the amount of power that they hoped to achieve, even without knowing what form those powers would arrive in.

 

November twenty-third arrived with little fanfare.  They had moved from Blaise’s estate in England to a remote part of South Africa in preparation for the ritual.  Blaise had set up a potions lab in the mansion in which they were staying.  Each of them was required to brew the potion, for the addition of the blood had to stay separate.  Once the potions were steeping, Blaise looked at them.

 

“Now is the time to make your sacrifices,” he stated calmly, causing panic to flutter in Astoria’s chest.  “I expect you complete the sacrifice within the next seven days and you are to put the blood in these vials.  They will ensure that it stay fresh, as that is very important to the ritual.”  He handed each of them a small vial that extracted from inside his robes.

 

They accepted the vials silently and with a wave of his hand, Blaise dismissed them from the lab.  Astoria and Pansy immediately went into Astoria’s rooms.  The blonde woman gathered Scorpius in her arms tightly.  “I love you,” she whispered into her son’s hair.  “Never forget that.”

 

Pansy watched the scene with tears in her eyes.  “We had best do this soon, Astoria.  I can take him with me when I tell Blaise that I’m going to kill Paradisea.  It will be a simple matter to Apparate to Scandinavia first.”

 

Astoria nodded as tears fell down her cheeks.

 

“Mummy?” the blonde boy questioned as he patted her cheeks.

 

“Mummy’s fine, Scorpius.  Mummy just has to go away.  Pansy is going to take you to someone who can watch you for Mummy whilst she is gone,” she said with a shaking voice.

 

“Dada?”

 

Astoria felt her heart lurch.  “Not yet, but soon,” she whispered as she gathered her son close to her for one last time.  She accepted the potion that Pansy was holding.  “Drink this for Mummy,” she said as she held the vial to his lips.  She barely held back the sobs as he collapsed in her arms.  Quickly, she accepted the silver knife from Pansy and made a cut up her arm and filled the vial that Blaise had given her with her own blood.  After it was full, she muttered a quick healing spell to erase the evidence of the blood-letting.  Then she made a similar cut on Scorpius’ arm, before checking to make sure that he looked dead.  The coldness of his skin and the blue tinge to his lips made her shutter.

 

Pansy bit her lip as she studied the scene and wondered briefly what would have happened if they had not found the alternative.  She quickly shook her head from the scene and pocketed the vial that had contained the Draught.  “I’ll go get Blaise.  He must assume that Scorpius is dead for this to work,” she said quietly.

 

Astoria shook her head and valiantly tried to pull herself together.  She had to appear as cold-hearted as Blaise to pull the ruse off, but also had to appear as if it was a difficult task.  In doing so, she stopped herself from weeping, but made no effort to conceal the traces of her tears.  She was drawing a steady breath when Blaise walked into the room.

 

“Love,” he said in a silky voice.  “I had wanted to be present when you took this step.”

 

Astoria just smiled.  “I am sorry, Master.  I did not know.  I assumed that you wanted this done as soon as possible.”  She handed over the vial of blood quickly, before he could question her motives.  “It seemed easier to do this now, rather than to drag out the process.”

 

Blaise smirked before kissing her slightly.  “So you are ready then, my love.  To rule the world as we see fit.  To become the all powerful rulers that will make wizards and Muggles tremble in awe.”  He stoked his hand up and down her body, the promise of power inciting his lust.  He pulled her closer to him, rocking his hips into hers.

 

“With you by my side, there is nothing we can not accomplish, Master,” Astoria said, conjuring a matching smirk on her face.  She accepted his kiss as his lips brutally claimed her own, relinquishing her body to him.

 

Pansy stood in the background, silently applauding the blonde woman’s acting abilities.  She quickly cleared her throat.  “Blaise, might I leave to complete my own task?”

 

Blaise just waved his hand as he continued to plunder Astoria’s lips, moving them towards the bedroom.

 

Smiling, Pansy carefully gathered Scorpius to her.  “I’ll also take care of the body,” she said as she moved to walk out of the room.  When no objections followed her, she quickly moved to her own quarters to Apparate to Scandinavia. 

 

**H~P**

 

Pansy shivered when she landed in Akureyri, Iceland.  The difference from the warm summer of South Africa to the bitter winter of Iceland was a shock to the system.  She hoped that her nanny, Valdis Amundsen was still residing in the city since her grasp of Icelandic had faded since childhood.  Quickly, she made her way to the Wizarding town hidden within the city and soon found herself running out of luck.  The address where she had last seen her nanny had been turned into a café.  Muttering under her breath, she finally found someone who spoke English in the shop.  “Pardon me, but I was wondering if you knew where I could find Valdis Amundsen,” she asked the blonde man congenially, whilst pretended that Scorpius was asleep in her arms.

 

“Why are you looking for her?” the man questioned warily.

 

Pansy smiled.  “She was my nanny and as you can see I have a child of my own now and was hoping that I could seek her employment.  I have very fond memories of my childhood because of her,” she said twisting the truth slightly.

 

The man smiled.  “ _Já_.  Many people seek her employment, but I believe that she is retired now.  She moved to the town of Upsir.”

 

Pansy sighed.  “Thank you.  Is that by chance connected to the Floo network?”

 

The man laughed.  “ _Nei_.  It is too small for that.  However, there is a bus that can take you there.  I can show it to you.”

 

“I would be most grateful, thank you.”

 

The man nodded.  “My name is Balder,” he said conversationally as he threw some coins on the table and stood.

 

“Ann,” Pansy replied, quickly giving the man her middle name to prevent Blaise from tracking her down.  She followed him out of the café and down the street to a rickety looking bus.  She was reminded of the Knight Bus in London. 

 

Balder quickly struck up a conversation with the white-haired wizard behind the wheel, and then handed over some gold to the man.  “This is Ari.  He will take you to Upsir and then bring you back.”

 

Pansy shook her head.  “It was not necessary for you to pay him, Balder.  I do have my own gold.”

 

“Eh, for a beautiful woman it was no price to pay.  I do not expect anything in return if that is your fear.”

 

Pansy smiled.  “Thank you,” she said sincerely.  “I will not require a ride back, however.  I shall just Apparate home from there if I am unable to secure her employment.”

 

“Then consider your gratuity taken care of,” he responded before slightly grasping her hand and bringing it to his lips.  “Please feel free to return here.  I am at the café many evenings after I leave work.”

 

“I will keep that in mind,” she replied as she stepped on the dilapidated bus.  “Thank you again for your kindness.”  She settled herself into the seat, sparing a quick glance at Scorpius, hoping that the potion did not wear off until she arrived at her former nanny’s home.

 

Her luck held.  The trip to the small town of Upsir, Wizarding population of 834, took less than ten minutes.  Once there, she was able to ask for her nanny with ease and soon was standing in front of a small hut.  Breathing a sigh of relief, she knocked on the door.

 

Within seconds, the door was opening to reveal an elderly witch with snow white hair and pale blue eyes hidden behind spectacles.   The woman looked at her for a moment before realization dawned.  “Pansy?”

 

Pansy nodded, shivering in the close to zero temperatures.  “Nanny Valdis.  May I come in?”

 

“Of course, child.  I see you’ve had a child of our own,” the woman responded.

 

“Not exactly, but I fear I must beg your indulgence and ask for your help.”

 

Valdis pursed her lips together, before directing her to a small sitting room.  “May I take the little one from you?”

 

Pansy sighed.  “Yes, but before I do, please let me tell you that he has been given the Draught of Living Death.”

 

Valdis sucked in a breath.  “Why?  Why would you do that to a child?” she accused angrily.

 

“Believe me, Nanny.  If there had been another way around it, I would not have resorted to such drastic measures.  Please sit, whilst I explain.”

 

Valdis studied Pansy deeply before gesturing that they sit.  “All right child, I’ll give you a chance to explain.”

 

Pansy bit her lip.  “I have a friend that is in an unhealthy relationship with a wizard.  He kidnapped her son from her ex-husband with the intent of killing him.  We used the Draught to convince him that Scorpius was dead, but I can not return him to his father right now because the man would discover the ruse and kill us both.  Please, Nanny.  Can you watch him until it is safe again?  I’ll leave you all the information on his father, in case the ruse is discovered.  He is a powerful wizard in England and will seek to protect you as well as his son.”

 

Valdis studied her former charge.  “There is no other way?  Can you not go to the authorities?”

 

Pansy shook her head.  “No.  If I’m not very careful, it would mean the end of the world as we know it.  I seek protection for the child, but I know what path I’m on.  I have little hope of surviving if the ruse is discovered.”

 

Valdis finally shook her head.  “ _Já_.  I will watch the child,” she said as she pulled out a parchment and quill.  After waving her wand over it and muttering a spell, she handed them to Pansy.  “Write the father’s information on the parchment, and then put a drop of blood in the corner.  I charmed it only to open at your death.  If that happens, then I shall know where to go.”

 

Pansy felt relief wash over her as she did as instructed.  “Thank you so much Nanny.  I hope that this letter never opens and I shall be able to return this child to his father, but if not, I know that he is in capable hands.  His name is Scorpius.  The Draught should wear off in the next hour.  I must return before I am discovered missing.”

 

Valdis just watched as Pansy carefully laid Scorpius on the love seat.  Once she was done, the nanny quickly gathered her former charge in a reassuring hug.  “Go, child.   Be safe,” she murmured, feeling that this would be the last time she saw the girl.

 

**~H~P~**

 

The third day of December found Blaise in the lab watching the potions bubbled merrily away.  _Yes.  I am soon going to be the most powerful wizard in the world.  Even The-Boy-That-Refuses-To-Die will tremble in fear of me._ He smirked as he wondered how the world would react to his power.  The only hindrances in his plan were Pansy and Goyle.  He knew that in order for the ritual to be completed, he had to have four people, but once they succeeded in overthrowing all of the world’s governments, he planned to eliminate them.

 

He glanced at his pocket watch, seeing the numeral turn to midnight.  The evil smile spread across his face.  “Less than eight hours until I can begin to conquer the world,” he said to the empty room.  He rubbed his hands together before retiring to his quarter to sleep for a few hours before they had to leave.

 

Seven hours later, the group of four Apparated onto a luxurious yacht in the middle of the Indian Ocean.  “Where are we, Blaise?” Goyle asked.

 

“Approximately two-thousand miles east of Madagascar.  There will be a total solar eclipse in thirty-one minutes and the ritual must be completed whilst it is in totality.  This is the location that the totality will be the longest.  It will last around two minutes, which gives us barely enough time to complete the ritual.  Does everyone have the parchment that I gave them?”

 

The group nodded.

 

“Good.  Now we must set up.”  He walked to the middle of the deck and waved his wand.  In a circle, four burners appeared.  “Please place your caldrons on the burners.”

 

They moved to place their caldrons.  Goyle chose the west, Pansy the north, Astoria the east and Blaise the south.  Once the caldrons were place, Blaise waved his wand again and lit the fire beneath them.  “Once the eclipse begins, you must be ready.  When it reaches totality, empty your vial of blood in it and focus your attention on the person whom you sacrificed to obtain it.  Pansy, you shall begin the chant, since you are facing north.”

 

They did not have to wait long as they saw the moon beginning to move across the sky.  Once it began to move in front of the sun, each of them uncorked the vial and held it steady.  Once the sun was obscured, they poured the vials into the potions, each changing to a different color.

 

Pansy began to speak as hers turned black.  “Blood sacrificed for ultimate power, bind with me in this darkest hour.  As day turned to night, all will see.  As I will it, so mote it be.”  She quickly dipped a ladle into the potion that had turned black and drank it. 

 

The other three repeated the spell in return, following the compass.  Astoria was second and drank of a pale green potion.  Blaise’s was a fiery red and Goyle’s a brilliant white.  After Goyle had drunk his, they all chanted, “Ancient power, rise up again, Exit from the banished land.  Famine, Plague, War and Death are we.  As we will it, so mote it be.”

 

As they looked at each other, they felt dark power rush into their bodies.  Each saw the other’s eyes turn black, then the color of their potion.  Once the eclipse moved out of totality, they were encompassed with a swirling wind that only left when each collapsed onto the deck in unconsciousness.

 

**~H~P~**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Further information for this chapter. Upsir was a town that I found on the Google Map of Iceland, but since I could not go down to street level, I believe it to be tiny. If this information is wrong, please let me know and I will change it! I’m just looking for a town that only has no more than 1000 residents (for purposes that will be revealed later). Also, per my research on the nanny’s name: Valdis loosely means the death goddess and Amundsen means protection. :p It seemed appropriate. Also, all the information about the eclipse is true. I did some research before I started writing this (thank God for Google) and was very grateful that there was a total solar eclipse in the time period I was looking for!!! If you want more info on the actual eclipse, just let me know. I have tons.


	12. All Saints Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 of 4 that is being posted on May 27.

All Saints Day found Ron and Harry back in their office, going over the information that they had.  “Anything from the Turkish Aurors?” Harry queried.

 

Ron shook his head.  “Not a thing.  I’m going to have to go there in person, I think.  I just wanted to run that past you before I left.”

 

Harry nodded.  “Go.  Just let me know what you find.  I’m going to do something that is going to upset Malfoy if he finds out.”  At Ron’s raised eyebrow, he elaborated, “I’m going to investigate his friends.  Hermione mentioned that she thinks it was someone who knew him and I think she has a valid point.”

 

Ron nodded.  “I agree, mate.  Something just doesn’t feel right.”  He turned for the door.  “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

 

Harry just waved his hand distractedly as Ron left his office.  He mused over all of Draco’s friends and what he knew about them.  _Hmm, the only ones that could pull something like this off are Blaise and Pansy.  This is not going to be easy.  How in the hell am I going to quietly investigate the Parkinsons or the Zabinis?_

 

Sighing, he settled back in his chair and then thought of the perfect solution.  Achim Bitterstein.  Smiling, he withdrew the card that the private investigator had given him and wrote out a letter on a piece of parchment.  Once satisfied with his missive, he used a charm that Hermione had taught him to make sure that the only person that could read the parchment was Bitterstein himself.  He quickly sent it off with a nondescript owl, to further conceal his identity.

 

As he sat back to wait, his thoughts drifted to Ginny and he found that he could not wait until she moved back to Grimmauld Place full time.  Smiling, he lost himself into his thoughts of his upcoming nuptials. 

 

**~H~P~**

 

 _Being an Auror has its advantages,_ Ron thought as he stepped into the bright Turkish sunlight.  His status as an Auror investigating a crime had made getting his Portkey a priority and he only had to wait an hour.  He had managed to send word through the British Wizarding Embassy that he was arriving and was expecting to be met by his liaison.  He was not disappointed when he was whisked into a small reception room and greeted by a beautiful raven-haired woman with green eyes the same shade as Harry’s.  She smiled at him as she stuck out her hand.

 

“Allison Worthington.  I am to assume that you are Ronald Weasley?” she asked in a crisp upper crust voice.

 

Ron nodded his head.  “Yes.  Are you my liaison?”

 

“Correct.  I will accompany you throughout the city and translate for you when necessary.  I can also bring in the local Muggle police department if need be.  What kind of information are you seeking?”

 

“Perfect.  I am part of a team looking for a kidnapped boy.  The prime suspect is his mother, who was last seen in Istanbul,” Ron informed her as he withdrew both a wizard and Muggle picture of Astoria Greengrass.  “This is her.  It is important that we find her as soon as possible.  The child has been missing for a month now.  Any longer and I don’t want to know what the child’s father will do.”

 

Allison nodded.  “Of course,” she murmured as she walked over to a desk.  She sat in front of it and punched something on it.

 

Ron looked at the contraption that Allison was using.  “What is that?” he questioned.

 

Allison shot him a smile.  “You must be a Pureblood,” she reasoned.  “This is a computer.  All of the Wizarding Embassies keep up with Muggle technology.  What I’m going to do is scan the Muggle picture in and then send it to my contacts on the Muggle police force.  It’s a much quicker method of sending information, especially when an owl would raise suspicion.  Muggles have the best technology and I think that every Wizarding school should teach courses in it.”

 

Ron just watched in amazement as the picture appeared on the screen.  Allison tapped another couple of buttons and the screen went blank again.  “Wow.  That’s bloody amazing.”

 

Allison laughed.  “Thanks.  It is a trip the first time that you use one.  I’m surprised that the Auror department in the U.K. doesn’t utilize this.”

 

Ron shrugged.  “Bunch of backwards tightwads.  But, change is coming, so hopefully I’ll get to use one of these.” 

 

“Now, let’s see if we can contact the Turkish Aurors.  By law, anyone magical that enters the country is supposed to register with the embassy, but if she is on the run from the law, she may not have.  What is her name?”

 

“Astoria Greengrass.”

 

Allison waved her wand over a piece of parchment.  “This tells me everyone that has registered in the last year.”  Yellow light flowed from her wand into the parchment.  Then she flicked her wand once and did a series of swishes.  “I just sorted it by last name.  Let’s see now.  Gavin, Garrad, Gibson, Giles, Godfrey, Gorbold, Grant, Gray, Green, Greene, Grey.  No Greengrass on here.  So she did not register with the embassy.”

 

Ron thought back to everything that they had learned as of yet.  “She was seen in Muggle clothing stores.  High end Muggle clothing stores.  Maybe she is travelling as a Muggle.”

 

Allison nodded thoughtfully.  “If so, then once my Muggle contacts get back to me, we might have a clue to where she was.”

 

Ron nodded.  “I hope so.  The Turkish Aurors have not been very forthcoming with information.”

 

“Then I have a few suggestions to try to locate her.  Istanbul is home to some very high end shopping.  Notably, Galleria Ataköy and City’s Nişantaşi.”  Allison looked at Ron with a critical eye.  “First, I must make you look like a Muggle.”  She pursed her lips and tapped her wand to them, then smiled.  Quickly, she waved her wand around him and within moments had transfigured his robes into a black suit with a black shirt and emerald tie.  She then waved her wand over herself and her clothes made a similar transformation, from Wizarding robes to red suit and matching heels.  “There we go.  I do suggest that you don’t talk much whilst in the Muggle world unless you are completely familiar with the terms.  I can translate for you.”

 

Ron just nodded as he looked at her in amazement.  _Blimey, I’ve found another Hermione!_

 

**~H~P~**

 

Harry wasted no time in meeting with Achim Bitterstein once his owl had been returned.  The man had even offered to come to the Ministry in order to keep up appearances.  As soon as he had settled himself in the chair across from Harry, the Auror immediately put up privacy wards.

 

“Do what do I owe this honour, Auror Potter?” Achim questioned formally.

 

Harry nodded his head.  “I wish to hire your services in regards to the case I had told you about.”

 

“Indeed, please do go on.”

 

“I find that I need some additional information in regards to Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson.”

 

Achim raised an eyebrow.  “Forgive me for asking, but are you not an Auror?  Can you not get any information that you need in regards to any citizen?”

 

Harry sighed.  “I can, but in doing so, it could possibly alert them to my interest in their lives.  If that were to come about, I fear that the consequences to Scorpius Malfoy might be dire.”

 

“Aw, I see,” the man responded with a smile.  “Whereas if I were to make inquires, they would be a lot less public.  What type of information do you seek?”

 

“Monetary.  Have either of them been withdrawing unusual amounts of money?  Also, see if there is any connection to Astoria Greengrass.  Was either of them in the same city as Greengrass before her divorce?  I would be especially interested in the exotic locations like Turkey.  I would also like to see if one of them had an obvious hold over Astoria,” Harry replied solemnly. 

 

“For blackmail purposes, correct?” Achim questioned as he made notes.

 

“Possibly, however with Blaise—if there was an obvious hold—it might be more sexual in nature.”  Harry noted the look of surprise that flashed in the other man’s eyes before it was hidden.  “Also, this does require the utmost secrecy and discretion.  If you are caught, you never heard of my name and I will do nothing to help you.”

 

“Understood.  That is a standard clause in my contract that I sign with all my clients,” Achim reassured Harry.  “Am I to assume that time is also a factor?”  Harry nodded whilst Achim continued, “In that case, I shall take my leave now and will report back to you in a few days.”

 

Harry nodded once more as the man quickly left the office.  _Merlin help me.  If it is either of those two that are helping_ _Astoria_ _, I might be investigating a murder next._

 

**~H~P~**

 

Draco paced back in forth in the library of Malfoy Manor in anger and frustration.  Blaise’s team had been no help in tracking down any additional information in regards to the possible whereabouts of Astoria and the worry and fear were making him edgy.  He had been cross with all the House Elves and even shouted as his mother and father a couple of times.  “Gods help whoever took Scorpius,” he muttered under his breath, making a vow that he would punish the person with every fibre in his body.

 

“Draco?” a hesitant female voice asked from the door.

 

Draco sighed as he turned to face his mother, her face lined with worry.  “Yes, Mother?”

 

“Dear, you should eat something.”

 

“I’m not hungry,” he replied back.

 

Narcissa sighed, gathering her energy about her.  “Draco Malfoy!  You will stop this incessant moping around.  It will not get Scorpius back.  You will come into the dining room and eat your meals like a civilized person and you will do this now.  If you don’t, I will drag you kicking and screaming in there if necessary.  Do you understand me?” she screamed.

 

Draco jumped at the octave that Narcissa managed to reach, thinking that she sounded like a fishwife. He sent a glare in her direction, in which she returned with one of her own that clearly said, _don’t mess with me boy.  I’m the one that taught you that glare._   He finally realized the futility of his defiance and shrugged.  “Fine,” he uttered before sweeping out of the room in a less than impressive fashion.

 

Narcissa smiled after he walked past her.  Obviously, her son didn’t expect her to treat him like a child.  She would if that was what was necessary in order to break him out of the miasma of depression that hung over him.  _Time for plan b,_ she thought and hoped that Lucius would not mind what she was planning.

 

When Draco entered the dining room, he found the table that he had grown up with gone.  Shaking his head, he realized that the formal table that could seat a small army had been replaced by one more intimate.  The entire room seeming more comforting to him.  “I see that Mother has redecorated,” he drawled to his father, trying to break the silence.

 

Lucius looked up and nodded in return.  “She deemed it necessary.  Slowly, the entire house is being redecorated without the help of an interior designer.” 

 

Draco looked at Lucius, wondering where this father had been whilst growing up.  This man’s face clearly showed his devotion to his wife.  It showed the loving bond that more than twenty years of marriage had only strengthened.  For an instance, Draco felt jealousy rise in his chest.  He was meant to have that with Astoria, but in the one instance where he found her with Goyle, something came crashing down inside of him.  He knew that he was not meant for that great love, only meant to be a loving father to his son.  Pain replaced the jealousy in an instant.  _You’re not even a good father, Draco.  If you were, you would be back at the cottage with your son._

 

Lucius watched the emotions war on Draco’s face, understanding some of what he was feeling.  He could only imagine what he would have done if Draco had been kidnapped as a child.  He imagined that he would have painted the town red with blood until Draco was safe back in his arms.  He felt a little of that for his grandson, but with experience and a completely changed life, he knew that was not the best course of action.  Even though he had once hated Harry Potter, even he could admit that the young man was damn good at his job.  He knew that Potter would stop at nothing until he had discovered what had happened to Scorpius and for once sent a small blessing in the man’s direction.  _Potter, I know that I greatly wronged you whilst you were a child, but please find my grandson.  If not, I may lose my son as well._  

 

Both men’s thoughts shifted back to the physical world as Narcissa swept in with a flurry of robes and soon the family was enjoying an intimate meal together.

 

**H~P**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I know that I just went back in time, but I really wanted 10 and 11 to focus solely on the bad guys. The next 3 chapters will be bringing the rest of the world up to the eclipse. Then the real plot building will begin!!!


	13. Questions From Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 of 4 that is being posted on May 27.

Hermione found her mind constantly wandering in the month after the Halloween Ball.  She kept recalling points of the evening, from dancing with Draco to the foreboding prophecy that Luna had made.  For some reason, she felt as if there was a reason that Luna had made the prophecy in front of all of them, but she couldn’t figure out why.

 

She buried her thoughts as best she could with work, but no interesting cases had crossed her path since the potions accident.  With the abundance of mind numbing cases at the hospital, she found herself volunteering to help Ginny with the initial wedding plans.  With that in mind, she began to compose her response to Ginny’s last owl, in which she had lamented about how her mother seemed to be taking over the wedding.

 

_Dear Ginny,_

_I can understand how you feel about Molly trying to make all the decisions.  I will tell you once again that you_ must _put your foot down with her.  I know that she wants to have a large wedding, but you need to have the wedding that you want.  If you just want a small wedding, then tell her so!  I know that she will understand about your need for privacy, especially since the wedding of “The Boy Who Lived” will bring out all the paparazzi like that Skeeter cow.  If you want I can try to convince her by reminding her of how much easier it would be to control a smaller venue._

_On to other topics.  Have you decided whether you want to wear a Muggle dress or Wizarding robes?  And what colours have you decided on?  I know that you had considered green, to match Harry’s eyes, but I really believe that it may not be the best idea.  My opinion is not the one that matters, however.  Should you decide to stick with green, I will make sure to support you._

_I must get ready for work, so please owl me back when you have the chance._

_Lots of love,_

_Hermione_

 

She dusted the letter with sand to quickly dry the ink and then tied the letter to Ares’ leg.  “Here you go, Ares,” Hermione crooned as she gave the owl another treat.  “Have a safe flight.”  Ares hooted softly before flying with ease through the open window.

 

She had just finished putting on her Healer’s robes when she heard an owl pecking at her window.  When she opened the window, she drew back in a combination of both fear and astonishment as the largest owl she had ever seen flew into the room.  It looked around the room before carefully settling on her bed and sticking out its leg.

 

Hermione walked up to it carefully, knowing that the owl could seriously harm her if it was so inclined.  To her relief, it seemed very tame and intelligent, so she untied the parchment quickly.  As she read the short missive, her eyebrows rose dramatically.  _The Malfoys want to have me over for dinner?  Have I fallen through the looking glass?_   She shook her head, but was undoubtedly intrigued by Narcissa Malfoy’s short missive.

 

Unable to deny herself, she quickly wrote out a reply and attached it to the owl’s leg.  She gave it a treat before it took off out of her window.  She watched the massive animal as it finally grew to be a dot in the sky.  Shaking herself out of amazement, she quickly gathered the rest of her gear and departed for the hospital.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Ron looked around the Galleria Ataköy in wonder.  It was larger than he had imagined, since he had never been to a Muggle shopping centre before, and the sheer number of boutiques had him shaking his head.  He understood why Allison had given him strict instructions before leaving the Embassy.  He listened patiently as she spoke quickly to what appeared to be some sort of Muggle law enforcement officer.

 

After she finished speaking to him, she led Ron away at a leisurely pace, making it seem as if they were another pair of shoppers.  “He said that they do get a fair amount of English tourists that shop here.  I did show him the picture of Ms. Greengrass; however he did not recognize her.  He will be taking a copy of the picture back with him, to see if any of the other security officers recognize her.”

 

Ron sighed in disappointment.  “So why are we still here?”

 

Allison smiled.  “I saw the way your face lit up at the sight of this, so I thought I would give you a tour as well.”

 

“Thank you.  It is definitely not something that I am familiar with.  I’ve never had a chance to travel a lot in the Muggle world, even though my two best friends were raised as Muggles.”  He smiled a bit.  “Although, neither of them is mad about shopping.”

 

Allison giggled as she pulled him towards the door.  “All right, next stop City’s Nişantaşi.  That has a little more of a high class air, so perhaps your suspect could have gone there.”

 

Ron nodded his agreement as they made their way to their automobile.  They enjoyed a pleasant drive from the Galleria to City’s Nişantaşi and once they arrived, he followed Allison to the security desk again.  Just like at the first shopping centre, she spoke quickly to a security guard in Turkish.  This time, however, a wide smile spread across her face.  She lightly grasped Ron’s arm as the man lead them through a door.

 

“What’s going on?” Ron questioned quietly.

 

“I think we made have gotten a lead.  Onur says that they had an English tourist in here during the time frame that we were looking for who made some rather large purchases.  Keep in mind that they are used to people spending thousands of Euros—the Muggle currency—at a time, but her purchases raised a flag.  They went as far as discreetly following her during her trips into the store and making sure that the money she was using was not counterfeit.”

 

Ron looked a little confused.  “Counterfeit?”

 

Allison smiled.  “Fake money.  It is an enormous problem in the Muggle world.  Governments try to prevent it by taking security measures, but the Muggles who are successful with counterfeiting are extremely industrious.  With the Goblins, counterfeiting is not a widespread problem in the Wizarding world.”

 

Ron nodded, a slight smile on his face as he remembered when they had broken into Gringotts.  “Understandably so.”  He stopped talking as they came to another door.  Onur opened it and gestured for them to walk through.

 

Ron fought the urge to stare at the small screens that filled the room, wondering what they were for, but Allison seemed to know and another smile graced her face.  “They have closed-caption television,” she stated to Ron before questioning the guards in Turkish.  “Oh, this is lovely.  They still have the tapes from six months ago for us to view.  Brilliant.  We will certainly be able to see if she was the person the suspected.”

 

Ron just nodded as he followed her into a small room, where Onur placed some boxes in front of her, before heading out the door.  “What in the bloody hell was that about?” he whispered.

 

“It’s a Muggle form of surveillance.  Hidden cameras film the shopping centre from different locations.  That information is stored on one of these tapes and we can view them.  We are lucky, most locations don’t keep their tapes this long, but Onur stated that they keep them for a year at minimum, or if something had happened on them for longer,” Allison explained as she put the tape into the video player.

 

Both of them began to look at the small screen of the television and it only took a few moments for Ron to spot the missing woman.  “There she is.   That is Astoria Greengrass.  We’ve found her!”

 

“Don’t get over excited, Ron,” Allison cautioned.  “Remember, these are images from six months ago.”  She continued to study the films, realizing that there was a man that followed the blonde woman into each store.  “Look at this.  This same man is following her around.  It definitely looks like they are together.”

 

Ron leaned forward as Allison replayed a series of images.  “You’re right, but we can only see the back of him.  I can tell he is black, but beyond that, nothing.”

 

Allison leaned back as she studied Ron, who was obviously thinking very hard.  Suddenly, she could see the light click on in his mind.  “You have an idea of who it is,” she hazarded.

 

Ron looked at her, shock and excitement flashing in his eyes.  “Yes.  I think I do.  I must go.  I need to get back to England.  I have a Portkey waiting with my luggage.”  He rose quickly.  “If you hear anything back from your Muggle contacts, can you let me know?  Just send it to the Auror office in London.  It will be delivered to me.”

 

Allison nodded her head as she quickly cleaned up after them.  “Of course,” she assured him as they left the tiny security office.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Harry stared at Achim in shock.  “Are you serious?  Blaise Zabini was in each city that Astoria was in during the divorce?”

 

The investigator nodded.  “Correct.  I went back and checked the records and I am positive.  I was able to place him arriving in each city; however I was not able to find any records of him actually staying in the cities.”

 

Harry nodded.  “Can you check under the name Donatien François?  That is an alias that I believe that he is using.”

 

Achim nodded.  “Certainly.  I shall get back with you in a day or so.”

 

Harry nodded again as Achim stood to leave.  “Please send me an owl as soon as you find anything out.”

 

As the older man left his office, Harry tried to put the pieces together in his head.  _So, Blaise is the instigator of this little fiasco.  What does he want with Scorpius?  I don’t understand._   Harry sighed as he settled back in the chair, feeling as if he was putting a puzzle together without a guiding picture to make the pieces fit.

 

He was still in that contemplative mood when Ron burst into his office.  “Harry!  I know who she’s working with,” he said breathlessly.

 

“Blaise Zabini,” Harry returned.  “I just found that out today and didn’t have time to send you a message.”

 

Ron’s face fell.  “Crap.  How did you find out?”

 

“Achim Bitterstein.  After you left, I decided to see if he could poke around for me into the lives of Malfoy’s friends.  Blaise was in each city that Astoria was in during the divorce, but not registered in any hotels under his name.”  Harry frowned as his frustration rose.  “What did you find out?”

 

“We tracked her down by talking to some Muggle law enforcement at a couple of shopping centres.  They became interested in her when she began to make large purchases.  Those Muggles have some bloody amazing stuff, mate.  Some sort of CVT or something?”

 

Harry grinned.  “CCTV.  Closed captioned television.  If only wizards used that our job would be a little easier.  Good job.  Now if we can only find out why!”

 

Ron shrugged.  “Why not go and check out Zabini’s house?  See if the child is there?”

 

Harry cocked an eyebrow.  “Under what authority?  All we have right now is speculation.”

 

Ron exhaled.  “I know this is a stretch, but what about telling Malfoy?  Couldn’t he just show up at Zabini’s house unannounced?”

 

“And then we get to arrest him for murder?” Harry said drolly.

 

Ron smirked.  “I’ve waited years for that image.”

 

Harry just shook his head.  “Really, Ron.  We need to find something more substantial.”

 

“You’ve got a point,” he said as discouragement began to overcome his elation at discovering Blaise’s ruse.  “I hate to admit this, but he’s a Slytherin that is too good at covering his tracks.”

 

Harry looked at Ron, his mind racing to try to find a solution.  “It may take a Slytherin to catch a Slytherin.”

 

“Do we know any Slytherins other than Malfoy?” Ron quipped back before they sank into silence.

 

**~H~P~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. So not a lot of action in this chapter, but I promise that the next 2 chapters will more than make up for that!


	14. Dinner in the Lair of Snakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 4th chapter being posted today, so go to chapter 11 if you haven't started there!

_29 November 2002_

 

Hermione dressed carefully for her dinner with the Malfoys.  She pulled out a pair of formal cobalt blue robes and carefully fixed her hair and applied her makeup.  Finally, at seven p.m. she Apparated to Malfoy Manor.  She stared at the imposing dark wood doors with intricate carvings of snakes gracing them.  With some trepidation she pulled on the green cord placed on the right hand side and tinkling of music was heard playing through the house.  She smiled as she recognized Mozart’s Piano Concerto Number 20 in D-Minor.

 

Within a few seconds, a familiar House Elf opened the door.  “Healer Granger!” Willa said excitedly as she opened the door.  “Please follow me.”

 

Hermione followed her into the house, fighting the memories of her last trip into the manor.  She shuddered as she passed the room that Bellatrix had tortured her in and prayed that they did not enter that space.  She did not know if she would be able to contain herself if they did.  Thankfully, Willa directed her to a small sitting room, decorated in creams and roses.  Narcissa Malfoy was standing in front of the fireplace with a glass of sherry in hand.

 

“Healer Granger.  Thank you for joining us,” she said politely.  “May I get you a drink?”

 

“A sherry would be nice,” Hermione murmured, feeling nervous.

 

Narcissa smiled softly as she poured the drink.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Narcissa settled into one of the wingback chairs and Hermione followed.  “I am sure that you are wondering why I chose to invite you to dine with us,” Narcissa started.

 

“I was extremely curious, Mrs. Malfoy,” Hermione acknowledged.

 

“Narcissa, please.”

 

“Then I insist that you call me Hermione.”

 

“Hermione, I am aware of what befell you in this house, and I wanted somehow to make amends,” Narcissa said.  “I can see that you are still confused by this and I will admit to a small ulterior motive.”

 

Hermione settled back into her chair.  “Whilst I appreciate the gesture, Narcissa.  You made amends to all of us when you saved Harry’s life by lying to Voldemort.”

 

“I thought you might say that, thus my ulterior motive.  Draco is slipping away from me as each day passes without word on Scorpius.  I truly fear for his life.  He has not left the Manor since the Halloween Ball, and for that I must confess that I threatened him into attending.  He barely eats and I don’t believe that he is sleeping either.”

 

Hermione studied the woman, sensing the underlying fear the woman was trying to hide.  “Do you want me to examine him?” she queried.

 

Narcissa nodded.  “Yes, but without him knowing.”

 

Hermione smiled.  “Thus the dinner invitation.  I can see him, yet it won’t raise any questions since I am a guest and not here officially.  Very Slytherin of you.”

 

Narcissa smiled.  “It’s a family trait, I’m afraid.”

 

“I will do it,” Hermione agreed.

 

“Thank you, Hermione,” Narcissa said sincerely.  “Now, I do believe it is time for dinner,” she said as Willa entered the room.

 

Hermione followed the pair to an elegant, yet intimate dining room.  She found a small round table, just big enough for four people.  She had just settled into her seat across from Narcissa, when Lucius and Draco entered room.  Draco was not looking at her, so she was able to study him and did not like what she was seeing.  His pale skin had a sallow undertone to it and his normally silky hair was lank.  She could see dark circles underneath his eyes and realized that Narcissa was correct.  He was not eating nor sleeping properly.

 

Lucius did not seem surprised to see her, so she hazarded a guess that he was aware of Narcissa’s plans, but from the shock in Draco’s eyes when he noticed her, he was not.  She watched the emotions flick across his face quickly before the familiar shutter fell across his eyes.  “Granger,” he drawled.

 

Hermione lifted an eyebrow.  “Malfoy.  How are you?” she questioned.

 

“Fine,” he returned shortly as he sat down.

 

“Good evening, Healer Granger,” Lucius said graciously.  “I apologize for my son’s lack of manners.”

 

Hermione suppressed a smirk.  “Not a problem, Mr. Malfoy.  I did go to school with him for six years.”  Lucius’ eyes twinkled at her comment.  “And please, do call me Hermione.”

 

“Only if you will call me Lucius,” the older man returned smoothly as he settled into his seat.  He turned his attention to Willa for a moment.  “Willa, will you please bring the first course?”

 

“Right away, Master Lucius,” the Elf responded.

 

Hermione could not help but be amazed at the treatment of their House Elf.  She remembered all too well Dobby’s descriptions of his treatment at their hands.  It seemed that the Malfoys had truly changed after the war.  Only a few minutes had passed when Willa and another Elf appeared, bearing bowls of soup.  Hermione remembered her parent’s lessons for a formal dinner and was grateful for them.

 

As she took her first sip of the soup, Hermione’s eyes fluttered in pleasure.  “I must complement you, Narcissa.  This is the most divine soup that I have ever tasted.  Tomato basil?”

 

Narcissa smiled.  “Yes.  Years ago, we acquired a House Elf from France name Marie.  She is the most marvellous cook.”

 

Hermione smiled as she continued to eat and exchange pleasant conversation.  She noticed that Draco essentially picked at his food, only eating three or four bites of soup before his parents had rested their spoons in the bowl, signalling the end of the course.  The two Elves returned and cleared the used dishes from the table.  Willa shot a concerned glance at Narcissa as the amount of soup still left in Draco’s bowl. 

 

The appetizer course had just been served, when the classical music rang through the house.  Lucius excused himself to receive the visitors, whilst Hermione and Narcissa exchanged a look.  In only a few moments, Lucius had returned with Harry and Ron in tow. 

 

Both men looked surprised to see Hermione in the Malfoy’s dining room, but Harry managed to contain it a little better.  Lucius led them in and then nodded to the two men.  “Aurors Potter and Weasley have some information in regards to Scorpius.  Perhaps we should retire to the library for now.”

 

“Of course,” Narcissa agreed as she stood.

 

Hermione and Draco followed them quickly, Draco becoming more animated and jittery as they walked.  Once everyone was seated in the library, attention turned to Harry, who cleared his throat uncomfortably.  “I do apologize for interrupting your dinner, but we have some rather interesting news and that we could use your help.”

 

Lucius nodded.  “Please continue.”

 

Harry sighed, wondering how the news was going to be received.  “For the majority of the month, Ron and myself have been following a lead and we believe that we have uncovered Astoria Greengrass’s accomplice in the kidnapping.”

 

Hermione looked at her best friends in shock.  She had not seen them much in the previous weeks, but she was impressed that they had managed to keep their findings under wraps.  She shot both of them a quick look and then nodded.  “What have you found?” she asked.

 

It was Ron who sighed and rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort.  “We believe that it was Blaise Zabini.”

 

Draco snorted.  “You are truly delusional, Weasley.  Blaise has been searching for Scorpius.”

 

Harry shook his head as he held up his hand.  “Please, let us present the evidence to you,” he asked calmly.

 

Lucius nodded.  “As this is my house and has to do with my grandson, please continue.”

 

Harry nodded once.  “We have uncovered evidence that Blaise was financing Astoria during the divorce.  She was seen shopping in many high end Muggle stores, spending more money than she would have access to.  Some of these Muggle stores have video surveillance and she was captured on film with Zabini accompanying her.  After an intensive investigation, we have discovered the source of the money.”  He turned an apologetic glance at Draco.  “It was Blaise, Draco.  We have a money trail.  It was from an account that one of his deceased stepfather’s set up for him.  He was using the alias Donatien François.”

 

Draco still raised an eyebrow.  “And the reason that you are here and not arresting him?”

 

Ron winced.  “Unfortunately, all we have is suspicion right now.  We have no hard evidence that him or Astoria actually kidnapped Scorpius.”

 

Lucius grew thoughtful.  “So you came here in hopes that we could drop by for a surprise visit and try to catch them, correct?”

 

“Yes, sir,” Harry responded.

 

“We shall go now,” Lucius said as he arose from his chair.  “I believe for propriety, I must ask both of you to Disillusion yourselves or Blaise will know something is amiss.”

 

Harry and Ron nodded and quickly muttered before becoming invisible, except for a slight shimmer.

 

“Narcissa, will you and Hermione please stay here?”

 

Both women looked to protest, but with the hard look on both Lucius and Draco’s faces, they quieted themselves.  “I will stay, but only if you promise if something goes wrong to come immediately here so I can treat you,” Hermione said with steel underlying her voice.

 

“Of course.”

 

**~H~P~**

 

The four men arrived at the sprawling Zabini estate within moments.  Making sure to conceal themselves, Harry and Ron watched as Lucius and Draco rang the bell at the front door.  A few moments later, a small, skittish looking Elf answered the door.

 

“Hello, Cassie,” Lucius said.  “Draco and I are here to see Blaise.”

 

“Cassie is sorry, Master Malfoy, Master Zabini is not here,” the Elf replied in a childlike voice.

 

“And where might I find him?” Draco said, trying to control his anger. 

 

“Cassie is sorry, but Cassie can not tell you that.”

 

Draco narrowed his eyes.  Blaise had always left instructions prior of where he could be reached.  Not caring if he was rude, he pushed his way past the Elf as Harry and Ron made themselves visible again.

 

“So much for being discreet,” Ron muttered under his breath as Draco stormed into the building.  The other three men followed with an apologetic glance to the Elf. 

 

Harry shrugged.  “Since we have access, let’s split up.  For temper’s sake, why don’t you and Lucius look around and I’ll see if I can get Draco to do the same thing.”

 

Ron nodded gratefully.  “As long as I don’t have to baby-sit the git,” he responded.

 

Harry just followed Draco, who seemed to be looking in random rooms of the mansion.  “Oi, Malfoy!  If you are going to search then we need to do it in a logical manner.  In what part of the house does Blaise have his rooms?”

 

“South wing,” Draco replied absently.

 

“Then let’s you and I search that.  Your father and Ron can search one of the other wings,” Harry reasoned as he led the man to the staircase.  “Since you know your way around, please lead on.”

 

Draco didn’t say anything as he took the stairs two at a time.  Harry was thankful that they were similar heights; otherwise he would have never been able to keep up with the blond.  A moment later, he shuddered as the artwork on the walls became decidedly darker, in both visible tones and the subject material.  Draco, on the other hand, did not spare the artwork of people being tortured a second glance as he came to a pair of imposing black doors.  “This is his main sitting room and it leads to all the other rooms in his suite,” he said.

 

Harry nodded as he withdrew his wand.  “Do you know his wards?  Are you able to disarm them if necessary?”

 

Draco nodded absently as he withdrew his own wand.  “Of course.”  He quickly disabled the wards and they entered the sitting room.

 

Harry looked around, feeling the darkness surround him even though lamps were lit.  “Check his bedroom,” he ordered as he looked at the doors.  When Draco moved to his left, Harry went to the opposite door.  When Harry opened the door, he found a hallway.  “Do you know where this leads?”

 

“No,” Draco responded shortly.

 

Hearing Mad-Eye Moody in his head chanting constant vigilance, Harry proceeded with caution.  The first door he tried had a simple locking spell open that he disabled with a quick _Alohomora._   When he entered, the coppery smell of blood lingered in the air.  Pointing his wand at a dried pool of blood, he murmured another spell and the image of a blonde woman appeared before him.  _Astoria_ _,_ he thought.  He quickly exited the room, as the chains covered in blood angered him.

 

He moved to the door across the hall and went into what appeared to be a bedroom.  There were two other doors attached to the room.  The first he opened revealed a luxuriously appointed bedroom, which he ignored.  The second made his heart leap.  It looked to be a child’s bedroom, with a small bed and toys spread about.  _They were here and Scorpius was alive.  Damn it all to hell, he was under Malfoy’s nose the entire time.  At least it looks like they were caring for the child._

 

With those thoughts in mind, Harry chose not to investigate the hallway further.  He had proof that the child had been there and was being kept alive.  Now he just needed to find out the reason behind the abduction.  He turned to leave the bedroom when he noticed Draco standing in the doorway, a look of absolute pain twisting his face as he came to the same realization.

 

Draco sank to the floor, his legs unable to support his weight.  “Merlin.  I’ve been in the sitting room dozens of times since the kidnapping.  He was here the whole time.”

 

Harry watched in sympathy as the iron will of Draco Malfoy finally broke and he dissolved into sobs.  Not knowing how to comfort the man, he just stood by and murmured, “We’ll find them, Draco.  If it’s the last thing I do.”

 

**H~P**

 


	15. Pestilence

_4 December 2002_

 

When the four people on the yacht finally awoke, they found that a couple of hours had passed.  Astoria was the first to recover staggering groggily to her feet.  “What the hell was that about, Blaise?” she demanded.

 

Blaise shook his head in order to try to clear his thoughts with a smirk.  “That was us receiving the power to rule the world,” he said calmly.  He waited for the rest of the group to arise.  “Might I suggest that we retire back to the villa?”

 

They all looked at each other, looking for any physical changes to their appearance and saw none.  Nodding to each other, they turned on the spot and disappeared with loud cracks.  When they reappeared, Blaise directed them to one of the dungeons that he had added to the villa and put out multiple layers of wards.  “Now, we must each test out our powers.  If my suppositions are correct, our magical power will have increased dramatically and even the most powerful of spells shall be easy to master.”  He looked at each of them.  “I’ll start.”

 

The other three watched as he shot a binding spell at a dummy that he had set up, but the result seemed typical.  Blaise looked confused.  “This isn’t working.  Did everyone add their blood?”

 

Pansy and Astoria shared a glance behind his back, wondering if the reason the results were not being produced because she used her own blood and each drew a calming breath.

 

It was Goyle that provided an interesting question.  “Blaise?  In the final spell, we said, ‘Famine, Plague, War and Death are we.’  What did that mean?”

 

Pansy thought about what Goyle was suggesting.  “Pardon me, but isn’t there a Muggle reference to that in one of their religions?”

 

Astoria nodded as she thought quickly.  “Yes, there is.  I once stayed the summer with my great-great-grandmother.  Her second husband, no relation to me, was a Muggleborn Wizard.  I think what that was referring to was,” she paused obviously trying to think of the correct term, “the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

 

Goyle raised and eyebrow.  “What is that?”

 

Astoria smiled.  “I remember it well.  I was ten at the time and had not gotten my Hogwarts letter yet.  My parents had shipped me off to her house, so they could spend a summer alone.  Between Grams and Grandpa Alex we got into several heated discussions about the Dark Lord.  Grandpa Alex said that he was not the most powerful evil in the world.  That title would continue to be bestowed upon the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  He even had me read the part of the Bible that referenced them.  But I thought the first one was the Conqueror.”

 

Blaise looked at the woman, a little distaste in his eyes at her reference to something obviously Muggle, but intrigued nonetheless.  “Do continue.”

 

“Ah, I remember.  The Conqueror has morphed into Pestilence or Plague.  The Horsemen symbolize the ending of the world.  It begins with Pestilence, which leads to War, then Famine and finally Death.  It’s like a cascade; each of the Horsemen leads to another one.”

 

Pansy quickly put all the pieces together.  “So, we’ve been turned into the Four Horsemen.”

 

Astoria shrugged.  “I would assume that.  That would explain the colours that our potions turned.  Each of the Horsemen rode a different coloured horse.  Pestilence’s was white, War’s was red, Famine’s was black and Death’s was pale green.”  She looked at the others.  I would assume that since my potion turned green that I am to represent Death.”

 

“Then I am Famine,” Pansy said softly.

 

“And I Pestilence,” Goyle said with a cross look on his face.

 

Blaise however was beaming.  “And that would make me War.  Excellent.” 

 

“The only question is how are our powers going to manifest?” Pansy asked shrewdly as she looked at Astoria.

 

“I have no idea since I am not familiar with the spell.”

 

Blaise thought quickly.  “All right.  I have a suggestion.  We need to see if we can discover how our powers will work.  I will draw up a list of small Muggle communities in which we can test out our own theories.  Each of us will leave for one month and visit four cities during that month.  If at the end of the month, you are successful in controlling your power, then return here and the next person will leave.  We shall go in the order that Astoria has mentioned.  So, Greg you are up first.  Then myself, Pansy and Astoria.” 

 

They all nodded their agreement, although with some trepidation, as Blaise waved his wand several times.  A parchment appeared in front of each of them, fluttering as if caught in a breeze.  “The cities will not appear until you have left this villa, that way none of us can be accused of tampering.  Keep this with you at all times.  I suggest no contact with either friends or family members during this time.”

 

Goyle nodded as he tucked his parchment away for safe keeping.  “I’ll go and pack for my journey then.”

 

The others watched him stride out of the dungeon with thoughts of the upcoming month foremost in their heads.

 

**H~P**

 

_5 December 2002_

 

Gregory Goyle packed enough clothes for a month’s journey in the most remote places that he’d ever been.  He would not lie to himself; he knew that he was in for a hard trip.  What he was going to do, even he could not equate it to a holiday and he was nervous.  He did not dare to show any of that nervousness in front of Blaise, for he knew that the man was like a snake and would strike when he was the weakest. 

 

Far from the image that he projected, he was actually not an oaf without any brains of his own.  Yes, he was not as smart as either Blaise or Draco, but being around both men had rubbed off on him.  Truth be told, he was tired of this image and that’s why he had jumped at the opportunity to lay his loyalties with Blaise.  He wanted to show the world that he too could be powerful.  He did not want to bow to anyone ever again.

 

He had been taken aback by Blaise’s revelation that he would have to kill one of his family members and knew that he had taken the easy way out.  He had killed is father, Gregory Goyle, Senior.  The man was no longer a threat to him, but the memories of horrible beatings as a child when he was not smart enough to solve a puzzle had haunted him for years.  After the fall of Voldemort, the Aurors had dragged his father to Azkaban, where he had been Kissed by a Dementer almost immediately.  There really was no skill in killing a soulless body, but he did what he had to do.

 

He remembered the night, he had visited the home in which they had put his father, as the prison would no longer keep him.  He had outlived many of the other soulless prisoners, whose average lifespan after being Kissed was two years.  The Ministry of Magic had told them that they needed the cell and they were to take him away.  His mother had acquiesced, and moved him to one of the smaller properties in the south of France, with a House Elf to care for his bodily needs.  As such, he had simply Apparated to the house, told the Elf to go back to the main house in the English countryside, then fed his father some poison that would not taint the blood and waited for him to die.  Once dead, he had extracted the vial that Blaise had given him and collected the necessary blood.  He felt no guilt in the matter, in fact, for the first time in his life he felt free.  The funeral had been three days later and he had stoically held his sobbing mother as the coffin was interred in the family mausoleum. 

 

Now, he was preparing to take his life in his own hands and have people bowing down to him for once.  He smirked as the mental image came to him.  He could imagine himself and Pansy ruling together, in a castle made of ivory in the Mediterranean.  If he was honest to himself, he knew he would never rule in the Mediterranean.  That would be Blaise’s territory.  _Maybe here in_ _South Africa_ _, a castle in the_ _Cape_ _Fold_ _Mountains_ _.  That would be nice._

 

He shook his head out of the clouds, realizing that first they must conquer the world, and then they could divide it up.  He took out his list, which was still blank and decided to Apparate outside of the gates of the villa to begin his journey.  He quickly shrunk his luggage and turned on the spot.  After quickly consulting his list, he began the long journey to his first location.  Xiǎo cūnzhuāng, China.

 

**~H~P~**

 

_6 December 2002_

 

The journey only took one day, as Goyle Apparated to known locations first.  He made a stop in India, where he purchased a flying carpet.  The journey was much easier after that.  He just instructed the carpet where he wanted to go and it whisked him away.   He landed outside of the small, rundown village shortly after dark and watched carefully as the people shut themselves inside their huts.  He wondered how he was supposed to unleash his power and did the first thing that came to mind.  He withdrew his wand and thought of diseases as he pointed the wand in the direction of the village.

 

After thirty minutes of concentrating, a weak beam of white light emitted from his wand and engulfed the hut nearest to him.  He lowered his arm in exhaustion, feeling like he had just run a marathon.  Quickly, he withdrew some food from an ever-fresh bag he had purchased in Italy and muttered, _Aguamenti_ to fill his flask with fresh water.  He decided to wait a few days to see if the spell had any effects so that he could build on his power.

 

After four days of waiting, Goyle was rewarded when the family living in the hut took ill.  Even though he could not understand the language, he knew that the people in the village were concerned when the family did not leave their hut.  He watched as the villager begin bringing bowls of food into the home and smirked, knowing that his spell was having effect, he just couldn’t tell how sick the family was.  _Was this something they would die of,_ he wondered.  Unfortunately, his lack of understanding of the language was impeding his comprehension.  He wanted to hit himself for not buying the translation charm in India when he had bought the carpet.  He made a mental note that he needed to go back to the bazaar and purchase it from the man who had offered it to him.

 

When day seven arrived, the family was still ill, but no one else in the village seemed to have any symptoms.  He tried to discern whether or not the family was dying, but he guessed that they probably were not.  He had not seen whatever these villagers called a Healer coming around to the hut, only the women.  Sighing in defeat, he glanced down at his parchment and discovered that the next destination had appeared.  Arnis, Germany.

 

**~H~P~**

_13 December 2002_

 

Goyle had left China on the morning of the seventh day after he had arrived.  He had made one stop in India to purchase the translation charm that he had decided would be useful.  Once in the country, he was able to find the small town that the parchment had pointed to with ease with his flying carpet.  As with China, the town was small with barely a hundred residents.  He made camp outside of the town again and thought back to his experience in China.  This time, he decided to concentrate all of his effort into one small house, instead of trying to infect the town as a whole.  He reasoned that if he could build his strength up, then in the later tests he could try to expand his range. 

 

He again waited until it was well after dark, with no person still awake in the village.  He chose the house on the opposite side of his camp, as to prevent detection from the locals, if they decided that something in the wilderness was causing the sickness.  Goyle drew in a deep breath and focused all his attention on the one house.  He again thought of all the diseases that he knew of, most of the Wizarding.  He was rewarded once again when white light shot out of his wand and encompassed the house.  As he stared at the light, it seemed to him that the light was stronger than the first.  As with China, he made his way back to his camp to wait and see if he was more successful than the last time.

 

For the next three days, he listened to idle village chatter as the residents went on with their normal lives.  Mid-day on the third day, he overheard a few of the men speaking close to his camp, whilst they were hunting some wild game.

 

“Why is Henrich not with us today?” the first man asked.

 

“He has taken ill,” the second replied.  “His wife came over this morning and requested some herbs from my Ekaterina.  She is good with healing, no?”

 

The first man laughed.  “ _Ja_.  That is why you never get away with saying that you are sick.”

 

The other man laughed as the two strode out of hearing range.  Goyle took heart in this.  He was correct in his theory that concentrating all of his efforts on one house, the power behind the spell would be greater.  With this new information in hand, he decided to move his camp closer to the house, so that he could discover more.

 

By the end of the sixth day, he was pleased at his spell work.  Not only had the poor Henrich taken ill, but his wife and three children as well.  They were currently ensconced in their bed, with the village’s women tending to them as Ekaterina kept making healing draughts for him, with little effect.  He could tell that unless something extraordinary happened, the family would not live very long.  With satisfaction on his face, he glanced at the parchment and found that the next location had already appeared.  Brøggerhalvøya,Svalbard, Norway.  _Now, where in the world is that,_ Goyle thought as he drifted off to sleep.

 

**~H~P~**

 

_20 December 2002_

 

Without the need to make any stops, other than to get more supplies, the trip from Germany to the northernmost island in Norway was brief, taking less than half a day.  However, when Goyle arrived, it was to complete darkness.  Confused, he looked at the parchment again, shivering in the cold and wondered where he had been led.  As he withdrew his pocket watch, formerly his father’s, he confirmed that the time indeed was three o’clock in the afternoon.  It wasn’t until he realized _how_ far north he was that he understood that he had been thrust into an artic winter, where the sun would not even rise above the horizon.  Cursing Blaise under his breath, he hoped that his warming charms and concealing charms would keep him comfortable and hidden.

 

With the artic darkness hiding him without the use of the charms, he slunk through town, avoiding the pools of artificial light, not that there were many.  This town seemed to have fewer people than the one in Germany.  _Of course it does.  Who wants to live where their bollocks will be frozen off most of the year?_   After careful observation, he was able to tell that there were about twenty structures in total, but he wasn’t sure which ones were houses as of yet.

 

After about two hours, he decided to take a break.  His feet and hands were prickling in discomfort from the cold.  He set up his tent approximately one kilometre from the outermost building in the town and with relief cast the strongest warming charm he could.  He felt the warmth begin to seep into his body and relaxed.  With the relaxation, came the realization that he was hungry, so he extracted some warm meat pies and tea for his evening meal.   He decided to go investigate more of the buildings as soon as he had finished.

 

An hour later, Goyle was back in the freezing cold and cautiously making his way back to the town.  He found a small hill opposite of the direction he had made his camp and made his way there to see if he could tell anything.  Unfortunately with the darkness, he was not able to make anything else out.  Sighing, he carefully made his way into town, taking refuge between two buildings that were not lit up.  He watched as a group of people left a long, low building.  There were perhaps a total of forty people in the group and the split and all went to the remaining structures.

 

Thinking to himself, he decided that the large building that they left was a common area and that they were perhaps retiring to their houses for the evening.  Walking slowly, he followed a pair of men.  At least, he assumed that they were men since both were so heavily bundled up that he could not see their faces.  He was too far away to hear their conversation, but much gesturing accompanied it that Goyle found himself fascinated by the flailing arms.  He finally realized that the men had stopped walking, when he began to hear their conversation.

 

“Dag, you need to find a good woman to keep you warm at night like my Helga,” one man was saying.

 

“Klaus, what could you possibly see in that woman?  She screams at you like a fishwife!” Dag returned.

 

“She keeps me very warm at night,” Klaus said solemnly, before breaking out in gales of laughter.  “She has a cousin…”

 

“No!  The last time you set me up I had nightmares for the entire winter.  I don’t want a woman that is just going to scream at me and that is all that Helga’s friends and family do,” Dag shot back in good nature.  “Speaking of which, aren’t you late?”

 

“Good Lord help me.  I am.  If I don’t show up tomorrow, send your condolences to Helga for accidentally killing me.”

 

“More like congratulations,” Dag shot back with a snort.

 

Goyle only had a few seconds to make up his mind and he decided to follow Klaus back to his house.  As he stood outside, he cast another warming charm on himself to last through until the family had gone to bed.  As stared at the warm lights in the house, he thought back to his Muggle Studies class in seventh year, when the Carrows had been teaching it.  He remembered them saying that the Muggles very susceptible to illnesses that wizards were not, a sign of their inferiority.  With a smirk, he decided to concentrate all of his concentration on one of the diseases, instead of all diseases to see if that increased his power’s effectiveness. 

 

He only had to wait an hour outside of the house until all of the lights were extinguished.  Gathering his strength, he closed his eyes in concentration and focused on the Muggle form of pneumonia.  It took less time than his previous castings for the light to emit from his wand.  This time the light was almost pure white and seemed to be double the strength of the spell in Germany.  It encased the house only briefly before disappearing.  With his task done, he made his way back to the warmth of his tent.

 

When he arose the next day, Goyle crept back into the town to find out if the spell had worked.  As he drew closer to Klaus’ house, he could see a small gathering of people outside of it. 

 

“Did he say anything about feeling ill, Dag?” a woman was questioning him.

 

“No.  He was feeling fine,” the concerned man responded.

 

“It is just not natural for pneumonia to set in this quickly.  Normally there is a period of fever and cough before it sets in,” the woman replied with a frown on her face.  “I want to get him tested to see what type of pneumonia it is and also isolate him from the rest of the town.”

 

“How are you going to do that?” another man questioned.

 

“Bring him into the clinic and I can set up an isolation bed.  God help us if this spreads.  It could knock down the entire town.”

 

Goyle’s eyes grew wide as he made a realization at the woman’s statement.  _Of course,_ he thought.  _I should just infect one person and that person can spread the disease!  Brilliant plan, Greg.  Brilliant plan._   He decided to keep observing the town over the next six days to see if the infection he had cast spread to the rest of the town.  He also knew that he needed to read up on his Muggle diseases and so he knew that he would need to buy some books on them.  With that in mind, he quickly returned to his tent and cast a silencing spell so that he could Disapparate without alerting the town.

 

Once Goyle returned from his shopping, he found the town once again quiet.  Thankfully, he returned to the warmth of this tent and began to read the books on the history of Muggle diseases that he had purchased in Oslo.  Soon he found himself undeniably fascinated at the tales of death the book wove.  It excited him that this was his future, for he knew that he would be capable of spreading these diseases.  The disease that excited him the most was called bubonic plague.  When he read about how it had been responsible for the deaths of half of the Muggle population during the 14th century, he knew that he had found his next test subject.  He would be using that at his final destination.

 

Over the next five days, he was slightly disappointed that more people did not become ill, but those who did were not responding to the woman doctor’s treatments very well.  None had died, but with more people falling ill every day, Goyle had his answer.  He was to spread disease, not only to kill, but to disable, so that he could weaken the Muggle population.  Smiling, he looked down at his parchment and was relieved to find his next destination listed.  Wilhelmstal, Namibia.

.

**H~P**

 

_27 December 2002_

 

When Goyle arrived in Namibia, the temperature change seemed drastic.  Going from almost 0C to close to 40C in the space of a few hours, made him feel as if he had been thrust into an oven.  Quickly removing his outer layers of clothes that had kept him warm in Norway, he was finally able to cool down a bit.  He was grateful that he had thought to leave during the afternoon, so that the sun was just setting in the desert when he arrived in Africa.

 

He found the town to be of similar size to the one in Germany.  With much more confidence after his discoveries in Norway, he quickly settled into a camp and waited for the town to succumb to slumber.  While he waited, he pulled out his book again and read about the different forms of the disease.  Looking at the town and realizing that it was fairly clean with no rodent life evident, he decided to use a different form of the plague called the pneumonic plague.  Without the rats to carry the disease around, he would have to settle for people spreading their germs to one another.

 

It was early the next morning when he got his chance.  A young man wandered outside of his hut, just before sunrise to go to the common well.  Focusing all his attention and energy on the man, Goyle thought of all that he had read about the plague and in just a few seconds, white light encompassed the boy, who fell to the ground. 

 

Keeping in mind the deadliness of the disease, Goyle retreated from the immediate village area immediately.  He knew that he must watch at a distance for fear of getting infected himself.  He decided to retreat to his tent again, to sleep since he had stayed awake the entire evening.  With a smile on his face, he slipped into dreamland as soon as he crawled into his sleeping bag.

 

Goyle had only been asleep for a few hours when panicked screams from the village awoke him.  Knowing that his plan was most likely working, he Disillusioned himself and crept as close as he dared.  What he found was an encouraging sight.  Men and women throughout the village were racked by coughs, many of them expelling blood.  He knew from his reading that this was one of the symptoms of the disease.  Feeling accomplished, he retreated from the heat and lay back down to sleep once again.

 

By the end of the fourth day after he had cast the spell, less than half of the town was still alive.  Smiling, Goyle decided to make his way back to South Africa and report his success to the others.  He was confidant that he knew what his role in the new world order was going to be.  He would be the first wave of the battle.  He would be responsible for weakening the populous as a whole, so that the other three Horsemen were successful.  He embraced his new role with pride and could not wait to see his name heralded in fear.

 

**H~P**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay. I completely made up the town in China (I did Google translate and put in small village and that’s what it gave me), but Arnis, Brøggerhalvøya, and Wilhelmstal are real. No offense meant to anyone who lives there or is from there! Also, for those of you that are from the US and not used to Celsius (like me), 0C is 32F and 40C is 104F. Gee, feels just like home. :p


	16. Disturbing Dreams, Part One: Water

_6 December 2002_

 

Ginny Weasley settled in her bed after a long day of training with the Harpies.  She only had a few weeks left until she officially retired, so she was spending her entire day helping to train her replacement, Gena George.  Half of her time was spent flying and the other half on the pitch with the coaches making sure that the new Chaser was up to her high standard.  As a result when she returned to her room at night, she was exhausted and fell asleep almost immediately.

 

On top of her responsibilities, her mother was driving her mad with wedding plans.  They hadn’t even set a date yet and her mother was trying to plan the menu.  Ginny sighed as she thought about it, but was happy with the letter that Hermione had sent her telling her to make sure that Molly Weasley did not push her around.  With that encouragement, she decided that she was going to make a concerted effort to at least make some decisions in regards to her actual ceremony.

 

“Let’s see,” she muttered as she withdrew a piece of parchment and her quill and took a sip of her Firewhiskey.  “What type of venue do I want to have?  As much as Mum would love Hogwarts, that is just too big.  Bill has already had a wedding at the Burrow.  Maybe Godric’s Hollow.  That would be nice for Harry.”  Quickly, she wrote the location down.  She knew that she needed to decide on the ceremony type and wrote next to the location, _Muggle or Wizard?_   That she knew she would have to discuss that with Harry since it was his wedding as well.  A yawn threatened to split her face in two, so she put away everything and climbed into bed, sleep following her as soon as she closed her eyes.

 

_Ginny looked around at the lush tropical forest that surrounded her.  She had no idea where she was, but something inside called her to the north.  Quietly she followed her feelings, coming to a small village.  Cocking her head to one side, she tried to figure out where she was as she studied the quaint scene in front of her.  The people seemed familiar; she could easily tell that they were Asian.  However, they tools that they were using were definitely out of her realm of comprehension.  She saw men carving some sort of stone with care and could just glimpse the large fire farther into the village._

_She smiled as she saw the children playing, with indulgent mothers gathering foliage from the forest.  She could only assume that they were gathering some sort plants for consumption.  Suddenly, the sound of hooves rang across the air, causing everyone to look up in fear.  Ginny turned to look as a richly appointed man on a white horse rode into the village.  She could see the villagers trembling as fear encased their bodies as the evil aura of the man began to permeate the very air._

_The man on the horse did not say anything as he raised his hand.  A pure white light shot from him and surrounded every man, woman and child.  The horse reared as the light dissipated and then turned on one hoof and disappeared back into the foliage._

_She turned her attention back to the villagers, who were beginning to shout in their fear.  She was shocked to see different boils and lesions appearing over their bodies and within moments, the people were dropping to the ground, writhing in agony.  All too soon, the writhing stopped and a deathly silence fell over the village._

 

Ginny shot up in her bed, breathing heavily.  “Sweet Circe, what the hell was that?”

 

**H~P**

 

_13 December 2002_

 

The following week passed uneventfully for Ginny.  She had put the nightmare out of her mind and refocused her attention on training her replacement.  This day, however, had been particularly trying.  For some unknown reason, Gena kept dropping the Quaffle and could not seem to score a goal if her life depended on it.  As a result, she wondered if something had happened in the girl’s life to cause such a drastic change in her skills.  After practice was over, she had invited her out for drinks to see if she could get to the bottom of the problem.

 

“Gena,” she began after they got their drinks for the bartender.  “Is everything okay?”

 

The young woman sighed, unhappiness evident in her blue eyes.  “Not really,” she finally said.  Ginny waited patiently for the woman to continue.  “I know I haven’t really talked about this, but it’s my family.  They’ve practically disowned me for pursuing my dream.”

 

Ginny raised an eyebrow.  She knew that the young woman was for the United States and had moved to the U.K. specifically to pursue a Quidditch career, but her life beyond that was a mystery.  “Tell me more,” she prompted, hoping that talking about her life would help her.

 

“I’m a Muggleborn and my parents were very poor.  It was only due to a scholarship that I was even allowed to attend school.  When they found out that I was a witch, they assumed that their lives would become so much better.  Neither of them graduated high school.  They both went from one dead-end job to another and there was never enough food on the table.  But they think that because I’m a witch that everything will magically change for them!”

 

Ginny nodded.  She knew what it was like not having a lot of money and she could understand to a point that the girl’s parents would see magic as a cure all for all their problems.  She just nodded and made a noncommittal noise to prompt the girl to keep talking.

 

“So, I did really well in school.  I had offers from several colleges to continue my education as well as from many companies that wanted to recruit me.  One of those companies, a very well respected pharmaceutical company, would have ensured that I was making enough money to support my entire family.”

 

“So why didn’t you take it?” the red-head asked quietly.

 

“Because I’m tired of taking care of them!” she exclaimed.  “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but the majority of them are just…red necks!  Just because I’m a witch doesn’t mean that they get to slack off.”  Gena sighed dramatically.  “I loved Potions and Chemistry, but that’s not something that I want to do right now.  I fell in love with Quidditch the first time I saw the Snitch and I’m good at it.  I’ll have time for another career when my playing days are over with.  It’s not like I’m not being paid to play the game I love.”

 

Ginny smiled and chuckled.  She knew that as a member of the Harpies, Gena would be well compensated for her time.  “Did you tell them how much you would be making?”

 

Gena laughed as she rolled her eyes.  “Yes and they seem to think that is a hill of beans compared to what I _could_ be making.  When I left to come to Wales, they told me that if I walked out of the door, I was dead to them.  I left anyway and it’s been so good to finally be free of the expectations.”

 

“So what changed?” Ginny asked shrewdly.

 

“I got a letter from my boyfriend.  He wants money.  He said that if I’m going to be an internationally known athlete then it’s my duty to share my earnings.”  Ginny could see the woman fighting to not grind her teeth together.  “Basically, he wants to mooch off of me.  I’m not going to let him.  If he wants money to spend on the latest Muggle gadget, then he needs to get himself a job and buy it his damn self.”

 

“Good for you,” Ginny said with a smile.  “Honestly, he sounds like a prat and you would be good to get rid of his lazy arse.”

 

“I know, but I’ve been with him since we were fourteen.  It was harder than I expected to write him the “kiss my ass” letter.  I’m dreading his response.  I’m sure it’ll be a Howler since he’s never been one to contain his anger.”  She sighed again.  “That’s why I was off today.  I kept thinking that I saw his owl and it made me cringe.”

 

“That makes sense.  Listen, why don’t you confide in Gwenog.  She’ll make sure that you don’t get any letters during practice.  That way you can concentrate on learning as much as you can.  I leave next week, but I’ll help you as much as I can whilst I’m here.”  Ginny smirked as a plan came to mind.   A plan that would have made Fred envious.  “In fact, if he does send you a Howler, let me hear it and I’ll return one to him that makes his look like a love letter.”

 

A grin split the young woman’s face in two.  “Really?  Thank you so much!”

 

Ginny just raised her glass in a toast.  “To the men in our life.  If they can’t handle us, then good riddance.”

 

The two women continued to drink into the wee hours of the morning, both blowing off some steam.  When Ginny finally made it back to her room, she was slightly unsteady on her feet and knew that sleep would not be problem for her.  In fact, she fell into her bed, too tired to even undress and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

 

_Ginny awoke to see another forest in front of her.  This one was reminiscent of the forests of_ _Europe_ _.  As before, she felt an insistent pull, this time to the south.  She followed it as before and within moments was insight of a large group of people.  She studied them carefully, cataloguing everything she saw.  They were definitely European, as far as she could tell, but the language they were speaking was completely foreign to her._

_She cocked her head sideways, thinking._ Huh, that sounds like some form of German, _she mused.  She glanced around again and saw many horses standing in the trees as a group of women gathered around a large bonfire.  They seemed to be cooking some sort of meat over the fire, whilst they chatted with each other.  Unlike the last dream, there was not a house in sight, only some crude tents and she wondered why._ Where is this place?

_She knew that Muggle’s standard form of transportation was the automobile and for the life of her could not figure out the scene she was seeing.  She watched for a few more moments before the familiar ring of hoof beats began to sound on the leave strewn forest floor.  She turned as a white horse entered the camp, but unlike the previous time, there was no reaction of fear.  Only confusion._

_The confusion matched her own as the horse was exactly the same as she had seen in her other dream, yet the man astride the horse looked exactly like the people.  She saw the evil grin marring an otherwise handsome face surrounded by long golden locks of hair.  Again the man raised his hand and white light shot out and surrounded each person before he rode away._

_Ginny watched in horror as the scene replayed itself.  The people screaming in pain and fear as each succumbed to death._

 

Ginny sat up in bed, sweat rolling off her body.  “What the fuck?” she muttered as she drew her hands through her hair.

 

**H~P**

 

_20 December 2002_

 

It was the day before Ginny was schedule to leave the team for good.   They had held one final miserable practice.  The day was cold and foggy, the fog so thick that Gwenog had finally called a halt to the practice since no one could see anyone, even with some smaller weather charms in place.  Ginny was grateful to get back to her room and slip into the warmest jumper and socks that she had as she built up the fire.

 

Unfortunately, the team would not allow her to stay there.  They had planned an enormous going away party at the local pub and against her best judgement; she was dragged along for the ride.  What she had hoped was only going to be a short, quiet party had morphed into wild raucous party.  Each story the team told of her brought blushes to her face.  To make matters worse, she was not even able to dispute the stories.  She just recalled with a twinge the wildness of her first days on the team.

 

Finally, around three a.m. she decided that enough was enough.  She stood up suddenly and declared, “Okay!  I’ve had my share of wild moments, but that is behind me,” she slurred as she raised her glass of Firewhiskey up.  “To finally becoming a grown up instead of a heathen Quidditch player!”  She quickly drank the rest of her drink down after the toast.  The rest of the team copied her and as she began to make her way through the not so crowded pub, a hand grabbed her arm.

 

Ginny turned around in surprise, only to find Gena’s smiling face swimming in front of her.  “Let me make sure you get back to your room okay,” Gena said. 

 

Ginny just nodded as she swayed a bit.  “Might be a good idea.  Haven’t had that much to drink in years.  Not since Harry killed Voldie.  Smashing good party then.”

 

Gena just smiled again as she looped her arm with Ginny’s.  “By the way, I got an owl from one of my friends today.  The Howler you sent my ex was awesome.  She said that he got it in the middle of night out with his friends and now refuses to show his face in public.  Have I told you how much I love you for that?”

 

Ginny giggled.  “Serves the git right.  At least someone else doesn’t have to put up with him for a while!”

 

Gena returned her giggle.  “From what my friend told me, no woman will come within a ten mile radius of him.  To borrow your term, that is just brilliant.”

 

They giggled the rest of the way to their room, where Gena made sure to leave a hangover remedy on Ginny’s nightstand before bidding her a good night.  Ginny just nodded as she carefully climbed out of her clothes and into the warmest pyjamas that she owned.  As she nodded off, her mind began to turn forward to being back in England again.

 

_Ginny looked around the blackness that encompassed her, wondering where she was.  A bitter wind cut through her clothes, but it oddly did not chill her.  She felt the familiar pull to move and began to carefully pick her way through the ice and snow northward.  It seemed to take hours to reach her destination, a small grouping of structures lit with lanterns.  She peered through the darkness, trying to see the group of people more clearly, but their clothing of fur obscured her vision._

_Unlike the previous dreams, she could see neither children around, nor much activity at all._ Makes sense.  It’s colder than cold here. _She wondered for the third time why she was dreaming and for the second how she knew that it_ was _a dream, but she forgot that once she heard the familiar sound of hooves, this time muffled from the loosely packed snow._

_When she turned, there was no surprise to see the same white horse, with a rider who resembled the people that she had watched.  Palpable evil still surrounded the pair.  All too soon, the white light was blinding her with its introduction into the complete darkness and with a sigh she watched as the people fell to the ground._

When Ginny awoke this time, she wondered if she had finally gone around the bend.  “I need to stop drinking,” she muttered.

 

**H~P**

 

_27 December 2002_

 

Ginny sighed in pleasure as she settled into a comfortable chair in the Black family library.  She was happy to have some time alone, as from the moment that she arrived at the Burrow her mother had pestered her into completing various tasks to get ready for Christmas dinner.  It has been so stressful that she almost regretted coming home before the holiday was over. 

 

Christmas Day had begun far too early for her.  Her mother had roused her out of sleep well before the sun chose to peek over the horizon and she had been entombed into the kitchen for the majority of the morning whilst Molly had flitted around in excitement as the entire family was going to arrive for the dinner.

 

She had helped her parents the night before the put an enlargement charm on the dining room, so that it would be enough to fit sixteen adults and two children.  Ginny had been happy to help, since this was the first time in years that they had all been available.  There were a few that were blood relatives, but they were considered family coming as well.  Andromeda, Teddy Tonks and Ron had invited Luna and her father to dine with them as well.

 

He had just made the mistake of not telling Molly until the night before the dinner that he had invited two additional guests.  To say that Molly was upset was a mild understatement and after she had finished her scolding, Ron had retreated to his room with Harry to discuss Quidditch.  She did not have that luxury as her mother had commandeered her time like a proper naval officer to ensure that nothing was out of place.

 

The dinner had gone off without a hitch and Ginny had made many observations during that time.  Ron kept looking at Luna with an air of interest whenever the blonde was not looking.  Hermione looked distracted, but she knew that if something was terribly wrong, her best friend would tell her.   Ginny also noticed that Luna had kept looking at Harry, Hermione and herself throughout the meal, as if there was a great puzzle to solve.  She fleetingly thought that she should discuss her dreams with the Seer, but she didn’t feel comfortable doing that.

 

Ginny brought her thoughts back to the present and sighed again.  She was not to start her new job until after the New Year and was not used to having so much time on her hands.  Harry had left shortly after the sun had risen, murmuring something about chasing a lead on where Blaise Zabini had gone. 

 

She had been shocked to discover that he was behind the kidnapping of Scorpius Malfoy.  She could sense Harry, Ron and Hermione’s frustration when they had filled her in on the case, hoping that she might have some ideas.  Unfortunately, the downside to playing professional Quidditch was that she had not picked up a newspaper in months.  It was while they were discussing the case that she had picked up on Hermione’s unease and had extended an invitation for lunch so that they could have some girl time.

 

Glancing at the clock, she realised that lunchtime had almost arrived and since Hermione had not sent her Patronus or an owl stating that she could not make it, she would make sure that Kreacher set the table for two.  Not even an hour later, the front door opened.

 

Ginny walked into the hall and watched as Hermione carefully made her way past the portrait of Mrs. Black and both sighed in relief as the portrait stayed quiet.  Ginny beckoned her in the kitchen where they hugged briefly in greeting.  “How are you?” Ginny asked innocently.

 

“Tired,” Hermione returned.

 

“Why?”

 

“Ever since the night that they discovered who had taken Scorpius, Narcissa Malfoy has been owling me constantly,” Hermione admitted.

 

“What for?” Ginny returned in curiosity.

 

“She’s worried about Draco and with good reason.  He goes from terrifying rage into depression in the blink of an eye.  I’m doing everything I can to help her keep him from killing someone, but honestly there’s only so much a man can take.”  Hermione looked worried.

 

Ginny studied her friend.  “He’s more than a patient to you,” she observed and was rewarded by a faint flush on her best friend’s cheeks.  “You’re attracted to him!”

 

Hermione bowed her head.  “I’m a terrible Healer.  I’ve become attracted to my patient, but yes you are correct.”  She looked up at the red-head.  “It started so slowly.  The night that Harry and Ron came to them, Narcissa had invited me to dinner.  I noticed how different he was emotionally.  When the discovery was made and they returned back to Malfoy Manor empty-handed, I had never felt anyone’s pain as I felt his.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Hermione sighed as she settled her head on one hand.  “Do you remember what Harry was like after Sirius was killed?”  Ginny nodded.  “Magnify that by about one hundred and you’ll see what I mean.  I think the only thing that kept Draco from killing himself was the possibility that Scorpius is alive.  The only thing that is sustaining him at the moment is the rage.  Once that wears out, I don’t know what will be left.  I’ve found that I want to protect him from that pain.  I just want to hold him until…”

 

Ginny found the pause to be intriguing and after waiting unsuccessfully for Hermione to continue, she finally prompted, “Until what?”

 

“Untilhefallsasleepinmyarms,” Hermione mumbled. 

 

Ginny shook her head, trying not to laugh.  “I’m sorry. What was that?”

 

“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?” Hermione shot back, her cheeks blazing with colour.  “Fine.  Until he falls asleep in my arms.  There.  You happy?”

 

Ginny just giggled.  “I know the feeling.  So what are you going to do about it?”

 

“Nothing.  I am just a healer, plus a Muggleborn to boot.  There is no way he could ever be attracted to me,” Hermione said morosely.  “Thus the reason that I am so tired.  I’ve been losing sleep over this.”

 

Ginny looked at her, deciding to change the topic for the moment.  “So, what do you think of the wedding plans so far?”

 

The women enjoyed the rest of their lunch together, both avoiding sensitive topics with ease.  Once Hermione had left to go back to the hospital, Ginny walked around the old house before deciding to take a nap.  She crawled into the large bed and snuggled beneath the sheets.  It only took a few moments before her eyes drooped closed. 

 

_Ginny looked around the desert sands, wondering where her mind had taken her this time.  As with the previous dream, she could feel the extreme temperatures of her surroundings, but it did not affect her.  She followed the all too familiar urgings and found herself travelling south again.  She came across a small tribe of people, wearing very little in the way of clothes and carrying spears._

_She realised that they were some sort of nomadic tribesmen and she figured that they were probably in_ _Africa_ _by the dark sheen to their skin.  She followed the group as the cautiously moved through the bush, obviously looking for some sort of wild game.  They had just spotted an antelope when she heard the hoof beats again.  “Run!” she screamed at them knowing that it was futile.  They didn’t even acknowledge that she was present, only turned to face the horse that was approaching._

_One man, carrying some sort of talisman began chanting as he waved it around.  The horse seemed to slow as clouds began to gather ominously on the horizon.  The more the shaman chanted, the darker the clouds became until it was a storm of epic proportions.  The wind whipped her long hair as thunder crashed ominously.  Lightning streaked across the sky before the rain began to pour down._

_Ginny raked her hair back from her face and turned to look at the horse and rider, who had stopped several meters away from them.  The horse began to rear, fear in it eyes.  For the first time, the horseman spoke.  “You may win this time, old man, but you can not deny me forever!” he snarled as the horse turned and fled._

_Once they were out of sight, she turned her attention back to the group of men.  The shaman was smirking as he slowed down his chants and the storm dissipated.  As quickly as it had begun, it was over and she breathed as sigh of relief that the horseman had not claimed anymore victims._

 

Ginny awoke with her pulse racing.  She fought to commit the dream to memory, somehow knowing that she had been granted knowledge of great importance.  Looking up at the ceiling she thought, _maybe I should talk to Luna after all…_

 

**H~P**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay. So this is the format that I’m going to be using for the next couple of chapters. One chapter to focus on the Horsemen, the next to focus on one of the good guys. After those are done, y’all will find out the importance of the four good guys. :D Also, I did take into account Victoire’s age. Per the Harry Potter Wiki, she as born in 2000 or 2001. I chose 2000 so that would make her a temperamental two-year old. Please, please review and let me know what you think!!! They feed the muse.


	17. War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay. I normally don’t put an author’s note up here, but I just wanted to warn you that there is no good quality to Blaise as of yet, probably never in this story. I present here a very evil picture of him. I hope that it doesn’t disturb you too much, but if you are the squeamish type, when he starts to recollect on the part where he kills his blood relative, you might want to skip the rest of that section. :D

Blaise Zabini was known for his patience.  In school, he was always the quiet one.  The one person who was always underestimated.  He smirked as he began to plan the future where he would rule above all else. 

 

He had known when he had found the spell, that in order to grasp his future, he would have to face his past.  So he had begun planning.  First, he had recruited his friends, those which would not be a threat to his rule.  He had considered asking Draco to join him, but after the birth of his son, he knew that Draco had changed.  He was no longer the young man that had taken the Dark Mark.  He had become weak.  If Blaise despised anything, it was weakness.  So he had written off the closest thing to a best friend and instead had begun to plot his demise.

 

Astoria had proved to be a useful tool.  When he found out that Lucius had arranged the marriage between her and Draco, had used her ruthlessly to undermine him, to throw him off balance.  He remembered the night, after a particularly exhausting round of sex that he had ordered her to begin sleeping with Goyle.  He had seen the horror in her eyes at having to copulate with someone so beneath her, but his slave spell was flawless.  She could not disobey him.  He thought back to her expression when he had told her to kill Scorpius and smirked.  He loved to destroy her life, bit by bit.  He knew that once he overtook the world, he would keep her around long enough to ensure himself a Pureblood heir and then quietly dispose of her.

 

Goyle, he knew could be no problem to him.  The man idolized him and would do anything that he commanded.  _Maybe, I will set him up in a remote castle somewhere.  He would not know that it was a prison until it was too late._   He tapped his lips softly with his index finger.  Of all of his friends, Goyle was the easiest to control and he would be useful to have around.  Especially since he had been following the Muggle newspapers and had heard some interesting stories about strange outbreaks of disease in some remote villages.  As far as he knew, the man had not killed anyone yet, but with his power, killing was not necessary.  All he needed to do was weaken them enough for Blaise to be able to control completely.  _Maybe, I can modify the slave spell enough that those who I cast it on will have no free will whatsoever.  Interesting thought.  If I do that, then I will I can overwhelm the world’s governments with sheer numbers.  Lead them like sheep to slaughter and whomever is left over will be under my control._

 

That thought led him to wonder what to do with Pansy.  She was not under his control like Astoria, nor was she an idiot like Goyle.  In fact, he knew that she could prove to be a useful Queen, if he could keep her from plotting against him.  He knew that she was not happy with having to kill any of her family, though she had followed through with the plan.  If she harboured any resentment, however, he would have to eliminate her.  _That would be unfortunate.  Pansy really has grown out of her awkward stage and become rather beautiful.  She and_ _Astoria_ _are like mirror images almost.  Her with her dark hair and eyes and_ _Astoria_ _with her golden blonde locks.  Too bad I can not possess both of them._

 

He sighed, breaking his thoughts from his future plans.  He knew that he had plenty of time to weave them into a cohesive whole, just as he had with his plans for his father.  When he had first read the part of the spell that stated that he had to kill a blood relative, he had known exactly who he was going to kill.  His father.  Carlo Zabini, the famous Wizarding fashion designer.  The man who had utterly destroyed his mother.

 

Blaise remembered with clarity what had happened.  He was only five at the time, but after a particularly exciting holiday in Greece, his mother and he had returned home to find his father awaiting them with divorce papers.  He had sneered down at them as he blocked entrance to his mansion that they had called home.  His father had called his mother a host of names that he did not understand until he was at Hogwarts.

 

Luckily, his mother was not an airhead like most Pureblood witches.  She had known that something was likely to happen when Carlo had not joined them for the holiday as planned and with one owl her solicitor had arrived with divorce papers of her own.  Her papers had not only included accusations of infidelity, but evidence of the infidelity as well.  Carlo Zabini had lost his fortune in the ensuing dispute; however his mother had never recovered from losing the man she had loved.

 

As a result, he had a plethora of stepfathers, who all had been much older than Maria Zabini when they married and all of whom had died within two years of the marriage.  He knew that not all of the deaths were natural causes, but he knew his mother was reacting to the betrayal of his father.

 

Killing him had been the best night of his life.  It had taken him almost a year to track him down as Carlo had changed his name several times.  Blaise would always remember the look of utter shock when he had walked into the dicey bar, the spitting image of his father as a young man, and sat down next to him.  His father was drunk, but wary at the return of his son and had assumed that he wanted revenge, yet even with that wariness; Blaise had wormed his way into his life. 

 

He supported him financially as Carlo began to get back on his feet.  He had invested money into making him a world renowned designer once again and just as his new line of apparel was set to be released, Blaise had taken his father out to celebrate.  Three bottles of Firewhiskey later, Carlo was once again the drunk that he remembered.  Blaise had Apparated him to an unpopulated section of Italy and taken great pride and time in dismembering the man while he still lived.  He had shivered in pleasure at the man’s screams as he had calmly explained what he was going to do, magic only being used to keep the man alive long enough for him to truly torture him.  Once he was done and had collected the necessary blood, he had cleaned himself off, realizing that he was painfully aroused.  He had returned to Astoria and had possessed her until he had worked off the excitement, leaving the girl racked in pain from his roughness.  Ever since that night, he had only to think of the blood flowing from the man’s dying body to become aroused again. 

 

His thoughts of the pleasure of bringing someone to a slow and painful death were interrupted as his door opened after a short knock.  Pansy was standing on the other side.

 

“Goyle has returned,” she stated simply before turning to leave.

 

Blaise smiled as he rose from his chair to follow her to the sitting room, to hear Goyle describe his adventure to them.

 

**~H~P~**

 

_2 January 2003_

After hearing what Goyle had to say, Blaise nodded to the man once before leaving the room to pack for his journey.  He packed enough clothes to last for a week, knowing that he would not live with without some small comforts.  That in mind, he also packed his newly acquired tent.  It had two bedrooms, a living area, fully established kitchen and of course a washroom that would rival a luxury hotel.  When he travelled, even if he was to travel alone and into some of the remotest parts of the world, he intended to travel in style.

 

After packing his clothes, he quickly called for a House Elf.

 

“Yes, master?” the shy elf asked.

 

“Dipsy, I’d like you to pack me enough food to last for a month of travel.  Please use the ever fresh bags for the perishables and then put them into this pack.  It has an undetectable expanding charm on it.”

 

“Yes, master.  Right away,” the Elf squeaked before disappearing.

 

Blaise just smiled in satisfaction.  _How can I get all the people of the world to act as if they are a House Elf?  That would solve all of my problems,_ he mused.  Finally, he shrugged and decided to retire for the evening.

 

The next morning, he left before the sun had risen above the horizon, intending on doing some reconnaissance before he tried to use his new powers.  He glanced at the parchment and as with Goyle as soon as he crossed the gates of the manor, the first town appeared on the list.  Lavumisa, Swaziland.

 

Nodding his head once, he took out a quill and muttered, “ _Portus.”_   Light flared brightly before he felt a familiar tug behind his navel and his world compressed down.  When he landed, he found himself surrounded by dirt and sparse brush.  Thankful that it was still dark outside, he quickly hiked to a small rise that overlooked a grouping of huts.  After erecting the tent with magic, he quickly cast several Disillusion spells as well as wards to keep out any wildlife, down to the tiniest bug.

 

He made himself a cup of tea whilst he decided to plan what he wanted to do.  He knew that the first thing he had to do was cast a translation charm to allow him to understand what the natives were saying.  By doing that, he knew that he could begin to sow dissent among them and hopefully bring them to blows quickly.  He surmised that the quicker he could accomplish his goal, the more clout he would have to over the rest of the Horsemen.  After all, it took Goyle almost the entire four weeks to master his power and he had a feeling that Pansy and Astoria would not take the full time.  He wanted to prove to them that he was the ultimate power.  _After all, how hard is it to make Muggles fight each other?_

 

As he drank his cup of Earl Grey, he pondered exactly what he was supposed to do.  According to Goyle, he should not even have to say a spell; he should just be able to think about dissent and war and that should make the people react.  With that plan in mind, as the sun rose over the horizon he exited the tent and Disillusioned himself.  He had decided to follow the Bushmen around to pick his targets.

 

As he drew near the huts, he saw a group of twenty or so men dressed in simple loincloths that made him shudder in revulsion.  Sighing at the indignity of men dressing in such a deplorable manner he quietly followed the group until they were several kilometres from the village.  He waited until two of the group, who all seemed to get along rather well, had lagged behind.  Once the rest of the group was has out of sight, he focused on hate and anger and pointed his wand at the men.  After ten minutes of concentration, a weak beam of red light wrapped around the men and soon they began to argue. 

 

Their argument increased quickly, both men almost coming to blows before the other men returned quickly.  From the conversation that he overheard, the men had obviously scared away whatever game they had been hunting with their argument.  After a severe scolding from several of the other men, each man seemed to come out of their trance and apologized to each other.

 

Blaise watched them walk away in shock.  _What in the hell just happened here?_   Sighing, he decided to return to the tent to see if any of the books that he had brought along would help him pinpoint his error at casting such a weak spell.

 

A few days later, Blaise had come up short in his research, so he began to study the two men that he had affected.  He noticed that although they had not had any more arguments, an intense dislike had formed between them to the point that he overheard each man making disparaging remarks about the other one to other tribesmen.  Obviously the dissent was still there, but now he wondered what he needed to do to make it escalate once more.  Unfortunately, day seven arrived too quickly for Blaise to try any other methods to incite the anger and his next destination had appeared on the parchment.  Keijenborg, The Netherlands.

 

**H~P**

 

_10 January 2003_

When Blaise landed from his Portkey trip, he found himself outside of a small, but bustling town.  The difference from primitive conditions in Swaziland was astounding.  He found well built houses that were surrounded by a rolling countryside of white snow.  He quickly cast a Disillusion charm, knowing that he could not be seen and then proceeded to walk around the town. 

 

As he walked, he listened to the daily trivial conversations that the people were having.  Most were talking of family and what their plans for spring were.  Blaise smirked, knowing that their happy plans for spring were about to be ruined by him.  He felt excitement rising in his chest as he imagined the town in ruins from the fighting that he was going to cause, his failure in the desert forgotten for the moment.

 

Once he had traversed the town from one end to the other, he decided to set up his camp on the east side of town in a large field close to the main road.  He had no concerns of being discovered, since his protection charms were second to none in his opinion.  He knew that being close to a road could increase the likelihood of being discovered, however he was willing to take that chance in order to see how many people entered and exited the town on a daily basis.  He had theorized that the reason that his plan failed in the first town was that he did not do enough research.  So he planned on studying the town’s inhabitants for at least a full day before he chose who to cast the spell on.  With that in mind, he retired to his tent once it had been erected in order to eat his breakfast.

 

Thirty-six hours later, Blaise had a plan.  He had been following the towns inhabitants around and discovered two families that held each other in great disregard.  Once night fell, he was going to go to each house and focus hatred and jealousy about the other family on them and see what happened.  He had discovered the two men earlier in the day, in a small local grocery store where he had gone to get out of the cold.

 

Both men had been picking up supplies when one had run into the other.  The first man who had dark hair had sneered at the smaller blonde man.  “Watch where you’re going, Herman,” he had said with distain.

 

“You are the one who ran into me, Anders,” the blonde had returned with equal distain.  “It is not my fault that you are blind as a bat.”

 

Anders bristled at the comment and soon the verbal sparring had become a shoving match.  The shopkeeper and walked over to them, anger clear on his face.  “If you two cannot be civil to each other, then I must ask you both to leave,” the heavyset man had told them. 

 

Both men had calmed a bit after that, but each steered a wide path around each other until out of the store.  Blaise had been intrigued by their fight and had followed them each around and discovered the source of their anger.  As he listened, he discovered that the two men had once been best friends, until they each had fallen in love with Julia Beumers.  They each tried to woo her, but Herman had been the victor after Anders had tried to physically assault the other man.  Julia had seen him sneaking up behind Herman to hit him over the head and had decided then and there that she wanted nothing to do with Anders.  Since that day, Anders had continuously berated Herman, trying to get him to escalate into physical violence so that Julia would know that Herman was just like him.  Unfortunately, Herman understood what the man was doing and resisted at every turn.  Blaise knew that they were the perfect subjects for him to experiment on.

 

He decided to start with Herman and Julia since Herman was going to be the more difficult of the two men to influence.  So, once the sun set he made his way behind their small house.  He watched the light in the windows throughout the evening, guessing what they were doing from what light was on.  At the beginning, all the lights were on the bottom of the house, so he knew they were probably eating dinner and spending some time together.  As the hours passed, the lights finally moved upstairs until they disappeared completely.  He waited another hour, to ensure that both people were still asleep before he took a deep breath.  Focusing his thoughts, he felt the hate rise up in him until a red beam of light shot out of his wand and encased the house.

 

Satisfied with his work, he quickly walked towards Anders’ house.  He planned to implant all the jealousy he could into Anders, knowing that the man was already close to his breaking point.  He knew that Anders would be the proverbial piece of cake to influence.  Once he arrived at the house, he could tell the difference between the two men easily.  While, Herman and Julie’s house was well kept, Anders’ house was seemingly falling apart.  The paint on the shudders was peeling and the garden looked severely overgrown, even in the winter.  Smiling, Blaise quickly raised his wand and within seconds red light was encompassing the dilapidated house.  Once complete, he returned to his tent for a good night’s rest.

 

Two days passed before Blaise got an idea of how well his machinations had worked.  He had taken to following Anders around since he knew that the man was on a hair trigger.  Finally, the two men crossed paths again and Blaise watched in glee was the verbal sparring quickly escalated into a physical fight.  He watched Herman in admiration; the smaller man was holding his own against Anders, but both were growing tired.  Several people had tried to break up the fight to no avail.  Finally, the town’s law enforcement officer arrived and with the help of four other burly men, they managed to drag the two men away from each other.  Each was carted off to the small jail.  Unfortunately for him, Blaise discovered that the policeman had finally had enough of the two men’s squabbles and each man was to stay in the jail for a week.

 

So he relaxed in his tent for the next two days until the parchment finally unveiled his next destination.  Verkhoyansk, Siberia, Russia.  _Really, can I get out of the snow,_ he wondered as he grudgingly packed his tent up again.

 

**H~P**

 

_17 January 2003_

When the Portkey dropped Blaise at his next destination all he could see was snow.  _Great, a blizzard,_ he thought as he tried to see his way through the swirling snow.  Quickly, he cast a few spells to help to identify where he was and how close he was to any people.  His wand pointed him eastward and he picked his way through the ice until buildings emerged out of the whiteness.  Sighing in relief, he ducked into a passageway between two buildings which shielded him from the wind slightly.

 

He quickly wiped the snow from his face as he tried to get his bearings in the town, but with the blizzard, he knew that he was not going to accomplish anything that day.  Frowning, he made his way back the way he had come and quickly found a depression in the snow in which to set up his tent.  Once the tent was warded, he quickly escaped into its warmth.  _Thank Merlin I’m a Wizard!  Why do people want to live in a place like this?_

 

The snow stopped the next day and Blaise dressed carefully in his warmest clothes.  Before leaving the tent, he cast a quick temperature charm.  “Forty below zero!” he exclaimed in shock and horror.  “Why in the bloody hell would someone want to live here?!”

 

Shaking his head, he charmed his clothes to keep him warm and then wrapped a scarf tightly around his face to protect the skin.  The cold punched him as he left the safety of the tent and he struggled his way through the light covering of snow until he was between two buildings again.  He Disillusioned himself and began to wander around the town searching for people.  He finally discovered a group of men wandering in from the tundra, carrying what seemed to be some sort of animal carcass.  He listened as they congratulated each other on the successful caribou hunt.  He overheard them talking about another hunt the following day and Blaise knew that was the chance he needed to cause them to turn on each other.  A plan already forming in his mind, he quickly retreated back to the warmth of his tent.

 

The next morning, Blaise made sure to dress as warmly as possible since he knew he would be following the men around the tundra.  He quickly found one of the men from the previous day and followed him to the outskirts of town, where he was dismayed to see a large vehicle awaiting them.  _So, I guess they don’t travel on foot,_ he thought to himself.  Grateful that he had decided to be prepared, he withdrew his shrunken broom from his pack and quickly enlarged it and followed them.  They had gone several kilometres when they stopped.  They exited the vehicle and Blaise watched in confusion as they strapped some sort of contraption to their feet and began to walk across the snow. 

 

As he watched them move slowly, Blaise looked in the direction that they were heading and saw a large group of caribou grazing on the exposed grass.  Thinking quickly, he pointed his wand towards the men and a beam of red light shot from his wand, enveloping the group, who looked startled at the red light.

 

Soon the men began to yell and push each other around.  Startled by the sudden noise, the caribou bounded off into the distance, unnoticed by the shouting men.  Blaise watched in amazement as they quickly came to blows.  Smiling, he headed back into town to warm up and see if men’s state of mind changed in the time that they returned.

 

He had just finished up his lunch when Blaise heard the sounds of fighting coming from the town.  With a smile on his face, he quickly made his way into the town to see that the men had returned and it looked as if the townspeople were picking their sides.  It had not escalated to a full on battle yet, but with the townspeople throwing their opinions in, Blaise had hope that a true war between them would immerge.

 

He watched when a group of ten extremely large men approached the group.  Some of the townspeople backed away as soon as they saw them and soon the scuffle had been broken up.  Each man from the group that he had infected was led away by a different man, all the while screaming at the others.  He wondered what the outcome of the scuffle was going to be.

 

He watched over the rest of the town during the next few days.  The men, it seemed, had been permanently separated, none allowed to go anywhere near the others.  The interesting development in Blaise’s eyes was that the remaining townspeople had begun to argue amongst themselves.  People that he had seen being friendly with one another before suddenly went the other way when they saw each other walking around the town.  _Interesting,_ Blaise mused.  _Maybe I don’t have to spell the whole town.  If I just influence the leaders then I may be able to inflame the whole town into a riot._   Thinking back to the books he had read on dictators, he finally understood that he had been going in the wrong direction.  As he settled back into his tent with his book on Adolph Hitler, he glanced down at the parchment, which had stubbornly stayed blank for the previous three days.  His final destination had been revealed.  Hương Long, Vietnam.

 

**H~P**

 

_24 January 2003_

Blaise signed in relief as the Portkey set him to his final destination.  He truly hated travelling by Portkey, but knew that was the only way to accomplish his goal.  He looked around the subtropical rainforest that surrounded him, happy that there was warmth in the air.  _This is much better,_ he thought.  He quietly moved through the forest to find his next destination.  The town was small and quite shabby looking.  The buildings looked as if a good stiff breeze would topple them, and there was no glass in the windows.  That alone told him that this was probably a very poor area.  He decided to set up his tent in the actual forest, for the conditions of the town made his skin crawl.  He was used to paved roads, not dirt and the largest vehicle that he could see was a dubious looking bus, which reminded him of the Knight Bus for some reason. 

 

Remembering his discovery in Siberia, after he had set up the tents he began to follow the villagers around, trying to discover who the leaders were.  The leader of the town he discovered in a matter of moments, but then he had to discover who else wielded influence over the villagers and that was proving difficult.

 

Three days later, he thought he had discovered the man who had the greatest influence over the villagers.  As he studied him, he realized that not even the appointed leader of the village had as much sway over them.  Smiling, he decided to put his plan into action as soon as night fell and hoped that the results were as quick as in Siberia.  _I want a war._

 

As he had in The Netherlands, he waited until the village was asleep before casting his influence over the two huts.  Eager to see the response, he left the flap of his tent open, with just a charm keeping the insects out.  Sitting in his chair in the living area, he quickly fell asleep.  Before dawn, he was awoken to the shouts of many people.  Excited at what was progressing, he leapt out of his chair and followed the shouts to the middle of the town.

 

It seemed as if the entire population was standing in the small square, a line clearly drawn between them.  On one side stood the village’s leader and on the other the man that Blaise had begun to think of as the true leader of the village.  Both sides were shouting at each other, fists waving in the air.  Blaise stood back smirking at his handiwork.  He was startled out of his admiration when a loud crack resounded through the air and the village’s leader fell to the ground, blood gushing from his chest.  Soon the cracks were coming one after another as people scrambled around for cover and more fell to the ground with blood pouring from their wounds.

 

 _Ah, so that is what it sounds like when a gun is fired.  A very useful weapon._   Blaise’s smirk grew to the size of the Cheshire Cat’s as he calmly walked back to his tent, fully intending on enjoying his breakfast before Apparating back to South Africa.

 

**H~P**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Again, all of these towns are real, so I do apologize if anyone is from there! Please, please review and let me know what you think! Some info about the weather in Siberia. In January, the average high temperature is: -42.7C (-44.9F) and the average low is: -48.9C (-56F). So not a place I’m going to visit in the winter. I hope y’all enjoyed this. I certainly enjoyed writing it.


	18. Disturbing Dreams, Part Two: Fire

_3 January 2003_

 

Harry woke up with Ginny wrapped in his arms and sighed in content.  _I have the best life in the world.  Friends that I would die for and the most beautiful fiancée in the world,_ he thought as he fought the urge to go back to sleep.  Only the urgent need of his bladder kept him awake.  He had been wrapped in a bubble of contentment since Ginny had moved back from Wales and straight into Grimmauld Place with him.  They had decided to rebuild his parent’s house in Godric’s Hollow and had a meeting with the architect in a week.  Both had agreed it would be the perfect place for them to live once they were married.  He was not going to spare any expense to have it built just as Ginny would like. 

 

After taking care of his bodily functions, Harry glanced at the clock and realised with a cringe that he was due into work in an hour.  Sighing, he knew that was the one part of his life that was not perfect at the moment.  Yes, he loved being an Auror, but the Scorpius Malfoy case was going to drive him to drink.  After making the headway and finding out that Blaise Zabini was the one that had orchestrated the kidnapping, the trail went abruptly cold.  Harry and Ron had managed to trace Blaise through five different countries before losing him.

 

He knew that he had to find the boy.  He had made a promise to Draco that they would find his son and he was not about to break that promise.  He remembered what had happened when they had finally returned to Malfoy Manor after discovering the evidence of the kidnapping in Blaise’s manor.  Draco had shut down emotionally.  The broken man that he had glimpsed had slipped behind the cold mask that he had always associated with the man. 

 

As the group had explained what they had found, he had seen Draco withdrawing into himself and knew that it wasn’t good.  After all the information had been shared, he had pulled Hermione aside. 

 

_“Look.  It’s not my business what you are doing here, but I need your opinion.  When we discovered that the boy had been held in Zabini’s manor all this time, Draco broke down,” he told her quietly._

_“Good.  That means that he is processing his feelings,” Hermione returned._

_“But now he is withdrawing.  Is he likely to kill himself?”_

_Hermione paused before shaking her head.  “I don’t think so.  He has so much anger inside of him that it’s more likely that if he finds Blaise before you, there will be nothing left of the man.”_

_Harry sighed.  “I was afraid of that.  I’m going to cut him off from the case then.  I don’t need him to become a vigilante and end up in Azkaban.  That will do his son no good.”_

_“True,” Hermione said.  “Narcissa asked me here to see if I could help Draco move past his grief.  I’ll keep doing that and hope that between his parents and me, we can prevent him from breaking down completely.  Let me know if there is anymore disturbing information_ before _you tell him, so that way I can make sure that I am there to help.”_

_Harry smiled.  “You always were a meddler,” he joked._

_Hermione laughed.  “It kept you and Ron alive, didn’t it?”_

 

He had kept true to his word, although there had not been a lot of information to share.  He glanced at the clock again and decided to pick something up from the Ministry cafeteria rather than risk cooking and waking Ginny up, so he quickly got dressed and then took the Floo to his office.

 

Once in his office, munching on the muffin that he had grabbed, he looked over his parchments again.  He glanced at the countries to see if he could discern a pattern.  From Britain, Blaise had gone to France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and finally Brazil.  The only thing that the countries had in common was that Blaise seemed to have money stockpiled away in those countries.  With that in mind, he had petitioned the Goblins to get Blaise’s financial records, but they were being tight-lipped about it.

 

He had just started another letter to request the information when a knock sounded on his door.  Looking up to see Ron standing there, he quickly waved him in.  “Why do you always knock?” he questioned.

 

“You never know what you are going to be up to, Harry,” Ron responded with an easy smile.  “Any word from the Goblins yet?”

 

“None.  They are stonewalling us.  Damn it.  I don’t want complete financial records; I just want to know what bloody countries that Blaise has holdings in.  You’d think that I was asking for state secrets or something!”

 

“They are a rather tight-lipped lot.  Have you thought about asking Griphook?” Ron asked, mentioning the Goblin that had helped them break into Gringotts.

 

Harry looked at Ron in shock.  “He’d never do it.  The only reason that he helped us the first time was to get Gryffindor’s sword.”

 

“Never hurts to ask.”

 

Harry sighed.  “True.  But with the goblins, I want something more.  Let me draw up another request for Blaise’s financial information.  You up to a trip to Gringotts?”

 

The Goblins managed to stonewall the two Aurors until just before the end of the business day.  Finally, they were beckoned into a small office, where the head Goblin, Borget had finally given them the answers that they were seeking.  Harry and Ron simply sat in their chairs in shock.

 

“Are you serious?  Out of…how many countries are there in the world?” Ron sputtered.

 

“One-hundred and ninety-six,” the Goblin replied calmly.

 

“Out of 196 countries, Blaise Zabini has financial holdings in one-hundred of them?”

 

“That is correct.”

 

Harry shook his head before rising from his seat.  “Thank you for your time, Borget,” Harry said faintly as he picked up the parchment that had the countries listed.

 

Ron followed Harry as they walked out of the office, both men having problems processing the information that they had been given.  They remained in silence until they reached the Auror’s offices.  “Look, mate,” Harry began once they sat down.  “Why don’t we head home for the evening?  This list is too long to start on tonight.  Tomorrow, I’m going to break the team into four units and each will research twenty-five of the countries.  Hopefully, we can find a lead.”

 

“Good idea,” Ron responded with a sigh of relief.  “I have plans tonight anyway.”

 

Harry raised an eyebrow.  “Let me guess, a date with Luna?”

 

Ron just grinned.  “Maybe.  See you later.”

 

Harry just grinned as Ron made his escape out of the office.  He glanced at the clock and realised that Ginny would almost have dinner prepared.  She had said that she wanted him to have a few home-cooked meals before she started her job at _The Prophet._   He had initially objected, telling her that Kreacher was happy in his care and had taken care of him whilst she had been away, but she had just smiled so he left it alone.

 

When he arrived home, he sniffed the air and smelt the enticing aroma of roasted chicken and potatoes.  He smiled at Ginny as he walked into the kitchen.  “Evening, Gin,” he greeted her.

 

Ginny turned around and shot him a bright smile before walking over and giving him a kiss.  “Evening, love.  How was work?”

 

Harry sighed.  “Frustrating.  I spent all day at Gringotts trying to get some information.  The Head Goblin refused to see me until just before closing time.”

 

Ginny grimaced.  “Still a little sore over the break-in, huh?”

 

Harry chuckled.  “You could say that, but I did get the information I was there for, but I had no time to investigate today.  How was your day?”

 

“Pretty good.  I had lunch with Luna about my strange dreams.”

 

Harry cocked an eyebrow.  “And?”

 

Ginny sat down at the table as dishes floated towards them.  “She was as cryptic as ever.  Something about looking inside of myself for the answers that I seek.  I swear she’s acting more and more like Trelawney lately.”

 

“Well, she always was a bit odd,” Harry said as he sat across from her.  “I think Ron has a thing for her.”

 

“Really?  That could be interesting,” Ginny mused.  “They might be the perfect match for each other.”

 

They continued to talk about trivial things throughout dinner and once Harry had helped to clean the kitchen, they retired to the library; Harry to work on his planned investigation for the following day, and Ginny to try to learn to knit.  They passed the next few hours with few words between them, enjoying each other’s company and when they retired for the evening, both felt content.

 

 _Harry opened his eyes to see dust swirling around him.  He looked around at the barren ground covered in dust and scrubby bushes._ Where am I? _He heard the sound of voices coming from the west and followed the sound, only to find a scantily dressed group of black men dancing around a circle of fire.  The rhythm of their clapping and chanting resonated within him and he felt his own heart began to beat in the rhythm.  He watched in amazement as the men began to move faster, the beat picking up with them._

_As the beat grew faster, he began to hear another beat and looked around.  In the distance, he saw a dot form on the horizon.  As the counter beat grew louder, the dot grew closer and began to take shape.  He saw a dark skinned man approached on a fiery red horse, which tossed its head._

_All the sudden, the men stopped their dancing when the hoof beats overcame their chanting.  As one the men turned to the Horseman, questions in their eyes.  The man and horse stopped a few meters from them, keeping his silence.  The oldest man in the group seemed to say something to him and instinctually Harry understood he was asking who the man was.  Still the man did not respond verbally.  Instead, he raised both of his hands and twin beams of red light shot from his palms, engulfing the group._

_Harry watched in confusion.  After the light had faded, the horse reared with fire coming from its nose as it turned and they galloped away.  Harry turned his attention back to the group of men.  He watched in horror as the group began to argue and then began to fight.  Soon, there was nothing to be seen except a mass of writhing bodies as each man tried to pummel the person next to him.  The scuffle only lasted a few moments, but once finished, the initial group of fifteen had been reduced to two men who had no more energy to fight.  Instead, the two men strode away from each other, hate radiating from their bodies._

Harry awoke with a start, blinking into the darkness.  _What the hell?_

 

**~H~P~**

 

_10 January 2003_

 

In the following week, Harry forgot about his weird dream.  He was completely immersed in trying to find wherever Blaise had fled to and as a result, he had little time to sleep, much less dream.  Ginny had begun her job at _The Prophet_ and was excited about the experience.  The result was that Harry had barely seen her all week. 

 

His team’s hard work was beginning to pay off.  He had discovered several other countries that Blaise has been spotted in, but he still could not pinpoint a pattern.  Blaise was not moving east to west or north to south.  After Brazil, he had been seen in Armenia, South Africa, Belarus and then The Maldives.  All of the sightings seemed to be completely random.  He did not seem to be checking on any of his investments in any of the countries, yet he was not seen with anyone else either.

 

Finally, when Friday rolled around, he decided to pull his team together in a conference room.  Andrew and Jacob had been working on all of the countries in Europe; Sebastian and Aaron had been concentrating on the Americas, north, central and south; Cassandra and William were concentrating on the countries in Asia; Ron and he had taken everything else.  He glanced at his team as the settled in front on him.

 

“Okay.  Here is what we know.  Blaise Zabini and Astoria Greengrass have kidnapped her son, Scorpius Malfoy.  For what reason, we have not determined.  They seemed to have disappeared off the map, so we have been concentrating on the countries in which Zabini has a source of income.  They are both from wealthy families, so it stands to reason that they want to continue live in style.  Any ideas on where they might have gone?”  Harry looked at his team as he spoke.  He was most disappointed in Sebastian and Aaron.  He knew that Blaise was most comfortable in the opulence which could be found in the Americas.  He liked his creature comforts.  “Sebastian, Aaron.  What do you have?”

 

Aaron sighed.  “Not much, Harry.  He has not been spotted in any of his usual holiday spots,” he said.  “We’ve been in contact with officials from Canada, the United States and several in South America, but nothing.”

 

Ron looked at both men intently.  “What of his investments in the States?  Have you found anything unusual?”

 

Sebastian shook his head.  “I’ve been in touch with all of my contacts and nothing.”

 

Harry shook his head as he questioned the rest of the team, much to the same result.  At the end of the meeting, he dismissed them and Ron and he walked back to his office.

 

“Harry,” Ron said lowly as he closed the door.  “Something doesn’t feel right here, but I don’t want to discuss it in the office.  What are you doing tonight?”

 

Harry smiled.  “Ginny was getting off work early, so we had planned a night together.”

 

Ron nodded.  “I’ll meet you tomorrow at Grimmauld Place, then.”

 

Harry nodded as he gathered his things before heading to the Floo.

 

It was well after midnight when he and Ginny finally returned to Grimmauld place.  They had enjoyed a romantic evening with dinner and then a trip to the theatre in London.  Ginny had never seen a Muggle play, so they had gone to see _Chicago_ _._   Both had enjoyed it immensely, but were extremely tired when they finally returned home.

 

Quietly they made their way up the stairs, so as not to awake Mrs. Black, who they still had not managed to remove from the entryway.  Both fell asleep within moments of their heads hitting the pillow.

 

_Harry opened his eyes to a sea of white.  He squinted as the sun momentarily blinded him, but soon his eyes became accustomed to the glare.  He wondered briefly why the obviously cold temperatures were not affecting him; after all, he could see his breath steaming in the air.  Finally he came to the conclusion that he was dreaming, so he could control what he felt.  He saw a plume of smoke rising on the horizon and with a sigh began to walk towards it, amazed at the ease that he moved through the snow._

_When he finally drew close to the fire, he could see a group of thirty or so people gathered around it, a large animal roasting above it.  The people were well protected against the cold, wrapped in animal furs._

_He watched as a woman scolded a small child, who was running towards the fire.  The child immediately stopped and then resumed playing in the snow.  He smiled at the contentment of the people.  He could tell there were no arguments between the people.  In such a small group, any arguments would be detrimental for their survival, but they still seemed content.  He wished for that in real life and wondered if that was what the dream was supposed to show him. That you could live without arguments, but somehow he knew that it went deeper._

_He turned as he heard a creak in the snow and was shocked to find the same fiery horse in front of him, the man upon its back looking similar in appearance to the people he had been studying.  As before, the man did not speak, even when a large man spoke harshly to him.  He raised his hands again and Harry watched a second time as red light engulfed the group._

_As had happened before, he stood by as he watched confusion change to anger and hatred on the faces of the people around him, even the smallest child.  Unable to witness what was sure to be a massacre, he instead turned and ran as fast as he could away from the scene._

Harry awoke for the second week with a start.  “Dear God.  What the fuck is going on?” he muttered, his heart still racing.

 

**H~P**

 

_17 January 2003_

 

During the week that followed the second disturbing dream, Harry felt as if he was being pulled into a million pieces.  As arranged, Ron had arrived at Grimmauld the following day; Ginny had left them discreetly alone.  “So?” Harry had asked.

 

Ron had sighed, his own sleepless night evident in his weary face.  “I just think that it is strange that Sebastian and Aaron have had no luck in the Americas.”

 

“You’re reading my mind, mate,” Harry agreed gravely.  “For one, we know that Sebastian comes from a very wealthy family.  I’d be willing to bet that his contacts would know at least something about Blaise.”

 

Ron nodded his agreement.  “What if…” he trailed off, unable to even put his thought into words.

 

“He’s a spy?” Harry finished for him.  Ron nodded and Harry sighed again.  “I’ll admit that the thought had crossed my mind.  I thought I was just being paranoid.”

 

“I don’t think so, Harry.”  Ron paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts.  “Look at what has happened in the last few months.  We’ve had good leads on the case, but when Sebastian investigated some of them, they didn’t pan out.”

 

“He did get that info from Hotel Merlin, though,” Harry countered.

 

“And that’s the last piece of useful evidence that we’ve gotten out of him.”

 

Harry winced.  “True.   What do I do about this?  Both he and Blaise are too good at covering their tracks.  If I start an investigation into him, he’s just going to disappear.”

 

Ron settled back into the chair in the Library, staring into the fire’s flames.  After about five minutes, he looked back at Harry.  “Who do we know that is good at investigation?”

 

Harry shook his head.  “No.  I am not using Bitterstein again.  I may have a lot of Galleons in my vault, but the man is expensive.”

 

Ron laughed.  “I wasn’t thinking about him.  I was thinking about a few people closer to home.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Ginny, Hermione and Luna.  They are three of the smartest people that I know.  If anyone can figure it out, they can.”

 

Harry looked pensive.  “And they could be extremely discreet.  Okay.  I agree with you.  Let’s see if we can get the girls together.”

 

And so they had.  After a lengthy meeting over dinner on Saturday night, they had enlisted the help of all three women in investigating one Sebastian St. Clair.  Harry and Ron had spent the week devising ways to get each of the girls into the office, so that they could get a feel for the man.  Ginny was the easiest.  She simply dropped by with lunch for Harry on Monday.

 

Ron managed to persuade Luna to come by so they could go to lunch together.  She had studied the man from behind her glasses like he was a rat in a cage, but since several other team members had met her, they all confirmed that she pretty much looked at everyone that way.

 

Harry had tried his hardest not to laugh when she began to talk to Sebastian about Wackenspurts that were surrounding his aura.  The man had looked as if he wanted to commit her to an asylum himself by the time she was done.

 

Hermione, however, has the hardest one to schedule in.  She had finally resorted to descending on the department on Thursday, with a loud admonishment for something that both Ron and Harry had supposedly done.  The “fight” had been rather loud and when she had left in a huff, Sebastian had followed her.

 

Neither Harry nor Ron could wait until Friday, when they were all supposed to meet again.

 

When Friday finally rolled around, Harry and Ron left the Auror offices gratefully.  They’d had another unproductive week of leads and were hoping that all three women had some information on him.

 

After dinner, they sat in the library and Ron looked at Hermione first.  “Okay, Mione.  He followed you out yesterday.  What happened?”

 

Hermione smirked.  “He asked me if I was okay.  I told him that if I could find some oafs that could not impinge on my personal privacy I would be.  He was very charming and asked me to dinner.”

 

“He didn’t?” Ginny gasped.

 

Hermione nodded, her smirk firmly in place.  “Oh, yes he did.”

 

Harry looked at Hermione.  “You’ve been hanging around Draco too much.  That smirk is pure Malfoy.”

 

Hermione laughed.  “And my tactics were pure Slytherin.  I discovered many things last night and none of them good.”  She held up her hand to stave off the questions.  “Let me start at the beginning.  He picked me up from the hospital and immediately I got _that_ vibe from him.”  The two other women nodded as one, but Harry and Ron looked puzzled.

 

“What vibe?” Ron finally asked.

 

“The ‘he’s too good to be true’ vibe.  Every woman has that sense.  He was extremely charismatic and chivalrous, but when we got to dinner he insisted on ordering for me.  He said that he knew exactly what I wanted.”  Hermione rolled her eyes.  “He ordered a peanut stir-fry.”

 

“But you’re allergic to peanuts!” Ron exclaimed.

 

“Exactly.  He treated me as if I had no mind of my own and you know how much I enjoy that.  So, from my perspective, he has not respect for women.  Also, during dinner he made some rather cutting remarks towards the Aurors and you and Harry in particular.  He seems to think that both of you got your jobs off of your fame rather than your hard work.”

 

Ron snorted rudely.  “Why that…”

 

Luna put a calming hand on his arm.  “Now Ronald.  It will do no good to get angry.  You can not show him your anger.  Perhaps I should take my turn.  I read his aura as we talked.  It was rather disturbing,” she said rather seriously.  “As I have told you, each person has a unique aura.  Most are rather colourful.  For instance, Ron you have an orange aura, the exact same shade as the Chudley Cannons.  Harry’s is red, Hermione’s is green and Ginny’s is blue.”

 

Ginny bit her lip.  “I’m almost scared to ask, but what colour his Sebastian’s aura, Luna?”

 

“It is red with traces of black intertwined in it.  That speaks of blood and death.  Whether that blood and death has happened yet, I would have to do a more in depth reading.”

 

Ginny shudders.  “Like the others, I got a bad feeling about him, but I have some more resources at my fingertips.  I did some investigative research into his family in the States.  He stated his was born of a Pureblood witch who married a Muggleborn, correct?”

 

Harry nodded.  “That is what the background check revealed as well.”

 

“Then you need to sack whoever does your background checks.  I have a couple of contacts in the States as well,” Ginny said dryly as she withdrew a folder with pictures in it.  She extracted one picture and laid it on the coffee table that they were gathered around.  “This is the real Sebastian St. Clair.  He was the son of a Pureblood witch and Muggleborn wizard in the southern United States; however he was killed by Death Eaters when he came to England to fight against Voldemort.”  Gasps sounded around the table, but Ginny held up her hand.  “I have more.  The Wizarding police in the U.S. have some sort of facial recognition spell that they use.  The man that we know as Sebastian St. Clair, in fact is one Nelson Armand.  He was born into a rather bigoted Pureblood family in Virginia.  He attended the Salem School of Wizardry with Sebastian St. Clair.  They were rivals, much like you and Malfoy, Harry.”

 

“Merlin’s beard!” Ron yelled as he jumped up.  “We have to go arrest him!”

 

Harry grabbed Ron’s arm before the man could leave.  “We can’t, Ron.  We need him.  If anything, this proves to me that he is probably working with Blaise.  I bet he is sending him information to keep him one step ahead of us.  We need to bring him down, but we also have to keep that link with Blaise.  Otherwise, we will never find Scorpius.”

 

“Also, Nelson Armand’s companies in the States are solely funded by Blaise Zabini, Harry.  You are right.  As much as it pains you, you have to keep him around,” Ginny concluded.

 

The five of them looked at each other, realizing exactly how much was at stake if they did not play this right.  “Okay.  I’ll let it be for now, but as soon as I can, I’m sending him to Azkaban,” Harry concluded. 

 

The group nodded and they decided it was time to leave.  Harry climbed up the stairs and quickly got ready for bed.  As he lay underneath the sheets, he looked at the ceiling, wondering what he had done in his former life to cause this life to be so interesting.  After about an hour, he finally drifted off to sleep.

 

_Harry opened his eyes to see a bleak and desolated landscape.  The grass beneath his feet was brown and as before he could see his breath lingering in the air.  Unlike his last dream, he actually shivered as the cold permeated his clothes.  Wondering what he was to do and what was in store for him, he stared into the desolation.  Finally, he caught a faint smell of smoke on the wind and in resignation began to trek through the landscape._

_He finally arrived at a small camp, filled with some sort of dwellings covered by animal skins.  As he studied the tents, he realised that there would not be enough room to stand in one.  Intrigued, he moved closer, content in the knowledge that whoever these people were, they could not see him.  As he drew abreast of the closest one to him, a large heavy-set man emerged.  With shock, Harry realised that half of the dwelling was in the ground._ That would definitely be warmer than above ground, _he thought._

_He looked around the camp and saw no children, but a few hardy women were cooking a large animal over a fire.  There was very little conversation between the group that was exposed to the elements and he noticed that the women did not stay by the fire for long.  Every ten to fifteen minutes, one group of women left, while another group emerged.  Curious, he wondered exactly how many people made up the encampment._

_Before he could go into one of the tents, he heard the familiar beat of hooves on the ground.  Dread filling up his stomach, he turned to see the all too recognizable red horse approaching quickly.  He moved away, not wanting to get caught in the red light that he knew was to come, but could not tear his eyes away from the scene.  He was hoping that it had a different outcome than the other places he had seen, but he was soon proved wrong._

_As the red horse and rider turned, the sound of harsh voices shouting drew his attention away from him.  Around fifty men and women had emerged from various tents around the campsite and from the look on their faces; Harry knew that few of them would survive the coming battle.  He averted his eyes as spears began to fly through the air, striking their targets with pinpoint accuracy.  Sighing in resignation, he walked away from the melee wondering why he was seeing people dying._

 

Harry awoke with a start.  “Why me?” he wondered softly.

 

**H~P**

 

_24 January 2003_

 

Harry started his week knowing that there was a traitor in their mist and there was nothing he could do about it.  To top that off, his dreams of the previous three weeks were starting to take their toll.  He could understand why he kept seeing visions of people fighting each other to the death, but he strongly suspected that his dreams and Ginny’s were somehow connected.  She had told him about her dreams in depth over the weekend and he remembered her telling him what Luna’s advice was.  _Look inside yourself._   He was having trouble doing that as most of his life had been spent in some sort of battle.

 

Wondering what he was supposed to do, he sat at his desk, contemplating the dreams, but him mind kept returning to Sebastian.  He wondered briefly how he was supposed to spy on the spy, but since he had no practical experience in the art, he was at a loss of what to do.  Finally, he thought back to the months leading up to his confrontation to Voldemort and an image of the twins rushed into his brain.  _That’s it!  I’ll see if George has something that I can use to track Sebastian!_   A wide grin appeared on his face and his grabbed his outer robes and quickly made his way to Diagon Alley. 

 

He made his way into the store, which was still doing a respectable business, despite the children being back at Hogwarts.  Verity smiled at him and pointed towards the stockroom.  He found George counting boxes and a pang went through him at seeing only one of him.  “Hey, George,” he greeted the one-eared man.

 

“Oi, Harry!  What brings you here?” George returned.

 

Harry couldn’t help but smile and thank whatever gods there where that Angelina was there to help him over the loss of Fred.  “I wanted to ask a favour.  I need to spy on someone and track their movements.  This person is familiar with everything that the Aurors use, so I was hoping that you had something that could help.”

 

George raised an eyebrow as he pursed his lips in concentration.  “That I might,” he muttered as he began to rummage through a couple of the boxes, before pulling out a box and a piece of parchment.  “Now, do you need to just hear what this person is saying or do you want to see as well?”

 

“Both,” Harry replied.

 

“Male or female?”

 

“Male.”

 

“Okay.  Try this,” he said as he handed the box over.

 

Harry opened the box to see a small metal ball resting on a satin cushion.  “What is it?”

 

“This is the prototype of the WWW Know-It-All.  Attach this to someone’s wand, since that is the one thing no good wizard is without, and you can see and hear everything that is going on.  Once attached, it becomes invisible, so the person will not know it is there.”

 

“So, it’s like a bug,” Harry surmised. 

 

George nodded.  “Yeah.  Gotta love those Muggles.  I love their technology.  It records twenty-four hours a day and is good for a year.  After a year, you would have to replace it.”  He shoved another box towards Harry; this one contained a mirror.  “This mirror will let you see and hear everything the person is doing and with one small spell you can either view the person or see what the person is looking at.”

 

Harry’s eyes grew wide.  “George, this is brilliant!  What were you planning on doing with it?”

 

“After the testing is done, I was going to approach you to see if the Aurors wanted them.  This is not for sale to the general public.”

 

“If it does everything you say it does, then absolutely yes.  I’ll approach Kingsley myself to get it approved.  What is the parchment for?”

 

George’s smile grew wider.  “It’s my version of the Map of Hogwarts.  This is also going up for Auror testing soon.  There is a small potion that you must make, similar to the Polyjuice Potion, but it only takes a few days to brew.  It does require a hair of the person that you are tracking, but this map will show you with pinpoint accuracy where this person is.”

 

“What’s its range?”

 

“The world.  It will pinpoint where someone is by country and with a tap of the wand you can zoom in on the street they are on if need be.”

 

Harry’s jaw dropped.  “George, I…I don’t know what to say.  This is exactly what I need.  What do I owe you for them?” Harry asked, wondering how many Galleons he was going to have to part with.

 

“Free of charge.  I need them to be tested by Aurors before I can sell them, so I just ask you to keep track of any changes that you think should be made.”

 

“Will do,” Harry assured him.  “Oh, Ginny wanted to know if you and Angelina wanted to come over for dinner some time soon.  Now that she’s back home, she wants to catch up with everyone slowly.”

 

George smiled.  “Let me check with Angie and I’ll send you an owl.”

 

“All right.  I’m going to head back to work and see if I can put these to good use.”

 

“Happy spying!” George called after him as he walked out of the stockroom.

 

Harry just shook his head in amazement as he made his way back to his office.  He was still wondering how he was going to use the tools that George had just given him.

 

The remaining week went by quickly.  His team had managed to eliminate another twenty countries from their lists, so he felt as if things were beginning to go correctly.  When Friday rolled around, he finally was able to put his plan in motion to get up the gear on Sebastian.  He had decided to have the entire team spend the day training in martial arts, telling them that it would help to clear their heads.  He was going to spar with Sebastian himself, during which time Ron would put the metal ball on his wand.  He hoped that during the training to be able to get a few hairs.

 

As it turned out, he did better than a few hairs.  At one point, he had the man in a headlock, demonstrating to the team the best way to apply a chokehold and a dozen hairs ending up on his hands.  Trying not to smile, he quickly pocketed the hairs before completing the demonstration.  Afterwards, he quickly added the air to the potion and then applied it to the paper.  He then tapped his wand to is, and he could see a map of the world appear.  He saw a tiny dot in England, so he waved his wand again and the map zoomed in to show London, where the dot was moving slowly along the streets.   Smiling he decided to head home. 

 

When he arrived, there was a note from Ginny on the table.  _Harry, out with the girls.  I’ll see you later.  Gin._   He smiled, happy that she was having fun with her friends and tried to smother a yawn.  The stressful weeks had finally caught up to him, so he skipped dinner and headed straight for bed, wondering briefly if he was going to have another dream.

 

_When Harry opened his eyes, he stared at the lush tropical forest around him.  Thankful that he didn’t have to deal with snow or ice any longer, he wandered through the jungle, listening to the calls of the parrots.  As he passed a small pond, he noticed a large dark bird with a grey head and wondered what it was.  As he walked, he began to hear the strike of metal upon metal.  When he finally cleared the trees into a large village, he found a man crafting an axe with precision._

_He looked beyond the man and discovered that the village was much larger than in his last dreams.  There seemed to be at least one hundred people present, with many children running around, chasing each other.  A group of women were exiting the jungle, plants filling the woven baskets in their hands.  He watched as they smiled indulgently at the playing children._

_He walked down the dirt paths, keen to find out more about the way of life of these Asian people.  He saw statues made of bronze gleaming in the sunlight and when he reached what was obviously the central square in the village; a large statue dominated the small space.  It was of a man with four arms and it looked familiar to him.  As he searched his memory, he heard the beat of hooves on the leaf strewn ground.   He turned to see once again the fiery horse._

_The people of the village began yelling as soon as the Horseman appeared and a contingent of men and women flocked to the centre where Harry was standing.  He watched as they all began bowing to the statue and at that moment his mind supplied him with a name.  Vishnu, the Supreme God in the Hindu religion.  He had learned about him in primary school._

_He saw the Horseman stop moving, the horse shying as more people began their prayer.  Suddenly, a wall of fire sprung up between the people and the horse.  Through the flickering flames, Harry could see the Horseman raise his hands in anger and the strongest beam of red light he had seen shot forth, only to be engulfed in the flames._

_The Horseman tried several more times to wield his power, but every time the flames prevented the light from reaching the people.  Finally, the Horseman screamed something and with a pivot the horse was gone, galloping into the trees._

Harry awoke with the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.  He knew that what he had been shown was important, just like Ginny’s was and with a glance at the clock, he sighed.  _I hope that you get home soon, love._

 

**H~P**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay. So this was the chapter that just wouldn’t end (in fact, whilst writing it, I got a song from Lambchop stuck in my head. Anyone know “this is the song that doesn’t end”), but I think everything is pertinent since Harry is the closest one to the investigation. About Vishnu, I did some research and statues of Vishnu have been found in both Cambodia and Vietnam, so it wasn’t too hard of a stretch to include Him in here. :p Anyone see a pattern yet?


	19. Famine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much love to all my betas!!! Any mistakes left are mine and mine alone. This version of Famine was heavily influenced by Supernatural. I just love Sam and Dean!

Most people didn’t know that Pansy Parkinson had a very happy childhood.  They assumed that her parents had been horrid to her since they were Death Eaters, but as the youngest of three children, she had been spoiled rotten by both her parents and her siblings.  Her sister, Paradisea, was four years older than her and her brother, Pancratius, was six years older than Paradisea. 

 

Pan had moved away as soon as he had finished at Hogwarts when she was eight.  He was off to see the world, he’d told her, but he had promised to keep in touch.  He was true to his word and over the next three years he had sent her numerous letters as well as presents.   She treasured those presents.  They were both exotic and beautiful.  He had sent her a porcelain doll from France, jade jewellery from Japan and various precious stones from around the world.  She treasured the letters even more; they were full of stories from his travels.  They opened the world to her and she knew that she wanted to see more.

 

He was the first one she had shared the news about her Hogwarts letter with and he had praised her, telling her to learn everything she could.  She had heartily agreed and the first year had continued to write him on a weekly basis.  She had written to him about how much she liked Draco Malfoy and how much the entire house looked up to him.  His father was powerful, even more powerful than her father.  It was after that letter that he confused her.  “Pans,” he had written.  “Remember what Lord Acton said.  ‘Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Great men are almost always bad men.’  Don’t let yourself be corrupted.”

 

She had puzzled over that line for years and now she was beginning to understand to the full extent what he had tried to warn her about.  The first inkling of understanding came about in fifth year, with the Inquisitorial Squad.  She had seen how power hungry Draco had become.  He’d become obsessed with catching Harry Potter, but in the end he had failed.  Now, she could see clearly how the power of becoming one of the fabled Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was corrupting Blaise.  Not that he needed much to be corrupted, mind you, but she could see the grandiose plans that he was working on silently.  She knew that those plans probably would not include her.

 

Still, part of her was still the outcast at school, the one who was only tolerated because of her relationship with the Malfoys.  She didn’t understand it.  Both of her siblings were extremely popular at school.  When she had asked Pan about it, he had just written her that she needed to be herself and people would like her.  She had argued that things were different now, but he had not backed down.  Their letters began to get farther and farther apart until that fateful day after the Dark Lord had returned.  Her father had managed to get Pan to come home for the first time since he had left.  Her father had tried to force him to take the Mark.  He had threatened and cajoled him to no avail.  Finally, her father had played his ace in the hole and asked her what she thought Pan should do.  She had told her brother primly that she thought he should take the Mark.  After all, it was an honour and he would have all the prestige that he wanted.

 

The look that Pan had graced her with was pure shock.  Shaking his head, he had drawn his wand and backed away from the family.  When her father had become angry and drawn his wand to force his son into submission, Pan had Apparated away.  Her father had disowned him immediately and she had not heard a word from him since.  She had buried her love for him deep inside of her and began to believe that her father was correct in calling him a disgrace.  Once the Dark Lord had been killed, she finally understood what her brother had stood for.  She had gone back and reread the letters that she hadn’t been able to force herself to burn and discovered in his words that he was living and travelling as a Muggle. 

 

She had tried finding him in the five years since she had left school, but to no avail.  So when Blaise had approached her, her hope of finding her brother had waned.  It was really a fit of pique that had caused her to accept and now she was stuck.  She knew she could not back out.  The only way out of her situation would be her death.

 

With that in mind, while Blaise was away she began to study the history of famine and started to ponder exactly how she was going to accomplish her goal.  She knew that to truly spread famine, she would have to destroy people’s source of food, but with the diplomatic efforts present to combat famines across the world it was going to be difficult.  Thinking along those lines, she pondered what else she could do.  She thought about the stories she’d heard about people who had experienced a time of hardship who had gorged themselves into oblivion when times had changed.  _Can I do that?  Can I force people to overindulge?_   Knowing that the idea had merit, she settled back down to research some more.

 

Halfway through Blaise’s trip away, Pansy received a disturbing owl from one of their informants, Sebastian.  He stated that he thought that Potter was on to them and wanted to know what he should do, try to hinder the investigation further or withdraw completely.

 

Pansy sighed, hating that Blaise had left her in charge whilst he was gone, but knowing that she had to follow thorough with his orders.  She thought about it for a few days, after all she was not going to give an immediate response and have the man suspect that he was important to the plan.  She knew that Blaise had already arranged for his disposal as soon as their powers were at full strength.  After that few days, she finally responded, telling the man to do his best to distract Potter from the investigation, but if he was compromised to retreat to the safe house in the States.  She was confident that she had responded in the same way that Blaise would have. 

 

Pansy spent the remaining two weeks finalising her ideas for inflicting famine on the unsuspecting people.  She had made a few inroads with her research and had come to the conclusion that it was within the realm of possibilities that she could force people to overindulge to the extreme, thus causing their destruction.  When researching, she had discovered a famine during the fifth century A.D., in which some records (albeit scarce as they were) indicated that some of the upper classes overindulged themselves greatly.  She also noted during her research that this was a period of plague as well.  _Hm, I wonder if this was a coincidence.  After all, the fifth century also begat the fall of the_ _Rome_ _.  So really, we have plague, war, and famine.  Death would have only been a natural occurrence with all of those factors.  Is it possible that this was a previous time in history where the Horseman reigned?_

 

With that line of thought, she had researched as thoroughly as possible for that time period, hoping that she would discover anything that would help her with her task.  When she had thought about possible sources of knowledge about that time period, her mind had immediately wandered to the Pureblood libraries.  There were several families that had written records back to the time of Merlin, so she had ordered the House Elves to deliver a number of rare books, all “borrowed” from those libraries.    She perused the pages of velum with care.  Even with the pages being spelled against damage, she treated them as if they would fall apart if she did not handle them with caution.  Pansy felt a sense of awe at being able to read words that had been written fifteen-hundred years ago. 

 

It was in one of those books from the Malfoy library that she found her answer.  In the fifth century many of the upper and lower classes had overindulged themselves dramatically, causing their death.  She realized that her line of thought was correct and it was possible to use her powers to cause that overindulgence.  As she closed the last book, an Elf walked into the room. 

 

“Master Zabini has returned,” it said simply before vanishing out of sight.

 

**H~P**

 

_31 January 2003_

 

Pansy was happy to leave as soon as Blaise had informed them of his successes.  She had packed for her trip a couple of days prior and without saying goodbye, she quickly walked out of the gates of the manor.  Glancing down at her parchment, she saw her first destination.  Grise Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Canada.  _Interesting.  At least it will be cooler there.  It is just seems weird to me to have warm weather during the winter!_   She smiled as she quickly transfigured her clothes into something warmer and cast the _Portus_ charm on the parchment. 

 

Moments later, she was standing on top of a fluffy snowdrift.  As she looked around, she shivered slightly as her breath steamed up the air.  She thought back to the stories the other Horseman had told her and wondered if night was the best time for her to try to implement her plan.  As she cast the Disillusion charm, she looked down at the small town.  There were very few houses, but that was to be expected in a town with a population of less then two hundred souls.  The dwellings were sturdily built, meant to withstand the harshness of the climate.  To say that the town was cold would be an understatement.  With an average temperature of below freezing for the majority of the year, the townspeople were a hardy bunch.  They were not used to the decadence that was found in warmer climes and Pansy knew that might make her job easy, but she was prepared with plans for the worst.

 

She walked carefully towards the town, taking the time to disguise her footprints as she walked.  She didn’t want some observant person stumbling along and finding the prints that lead them to nowhere.  She could only imagine the response of the townspeople if that happened.  She smirked lightly as she thought about the phantasms that would ensue if that were to come to pass.  She finally reached her destination after an hour of floundering across the snow.  She was at the base of a big hill, or baby mountain with a frozen river in front of her.  There were a series of houses across that river.  She was hoping that she would be protected from the elements by the hill, but was confidant in her ability to cast a sufficient warming charm.

 

A few moments (and wand waves) later, the tent was properly set up and camouflaged.  She retreated out of the frigid cold and quickly made herself a pot of tea to try to warm up.  After settling down in front of the fireplace in the tent, Pansy wrapped a warm woollen blanket around her and picked up one of the books that she had packed.  It was the history book from the Malfoy library.  She found the book to be quite interesting and while she wasn’t a bookworm like certain know-it-all Gryffindors, she did enjoy a good read.  Especially when the book was particularly fascinating.  And the Malfoy history was that.  She learned that the Pureblood leanings of the family did not go straight back to Merlin as proclaimed by Lucius.  In fact, from what she was learning about in the history, the Malfoys only existed in power after the time of Merlin. And they were closely linked with the Weasleys. 

 

As she studied the book, she found herself lost in the times of history.  She discovered that both families were part of the Merovingian dynasty, sharing the common ancestor of Merovious.  He was the first King in the Gaul region that became France.  It was only after the time of Merlin that the families split apart.   Two of the daughters of Merovious fell in love with two twin brothers from the House of Malfoi.  The youngest daughter, Lachesis fell in love with Leonis of Malfoi, the oldest daughter Atropos fell in love with Ophiuchi of Malfoi.  The two men could not have been more different.  Leonis had bright red hair that had never occurred in the family, while Ophiuchi the blonde regal look of their father.  In fact, if they had not been born at the same time, their father Orion would have disowned Leonis.  Leonis was the outcast of the family, before he reached adulthood his many brothers had taken to calling him La Bellette Rouge or the Red Weasel for his Muggle sensibilities.  Ophiuchi was the opposite, he sought repress the Muggles.  Once Leonis was disowned for helping to prevent wizards from killing Muggles, he took control of the family.

 

Pansy was yanked out of her startling discovery by the chiming of her time charm.  She realised that she had been so engrossed in the unexpected history that she had missed both lunch and dinner.  The sun had already descended from the sky.  Quickly, she threw together a meal and ate without taste as she hurried through it.  She knew enough that she did not want to be exposed to the elements much during the night-time hours.

 

After she wrapped herself in multiple layers, each with a warming charm cast on them, she walked out into the frigid air.  She began to make her way through the snow and ice to the frozen river.  Carefully, she tested the ice to make sure that it would hold her weight and then picked her way across carefully, knowing that one slip could cause her to fall and break something.  While the break would not be life threatening (unless it was in her neck or spine), it would cause her to abandon her plan until she had managed to heal herself.  Skelegrow was not something that she was fond of taking.  Once across, she became more guarded.  As she moved further into the settlement—she refused to think of it as a town—she realised her discretion was not needed.  There was not one single soul out of doors after dark.  Breathing a sigh of relief, she made her way to where she believed the houses to be.  By listening carefully, she managed to find a group of men that were housed together.  There seemed to be five or six from what she could overhear with her spying charms.

 

Once she moved herself into the shelter of the houses, out of the biting wind, she looked down at her wand and drew a deep breath.  Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the feelings of gluttony that she wanted to inspire in the men.  She could feel the power building in herself and waited to release the power.  She didn’t know how she determined the correct time to release the power, some instinct inside of her told her what to do, but once she reached that point, she opened her eyes and pointed her wand at the house.  Black light shot from her wand and engulfed the house.  She could feel the power flowing through her and once the house was encased in the light, she cut off the flow of power before it made her weak.  Smiling in satisfaction, she made her way back to the warmth and comfort of her tent, only to fall in bed in exhaustion.

 

When she finally regained consciousness, Pansy found that the weariness that had consumed her the previous night was gone.  Thinking about what it was like to try a new physical exercise and how it took time to adjust to using a new part of her, she hoped that she would become acclimated to the new power quickly, or else it would give Blaise the ammunition that he needed to try and eliminate her.

 

After a quick spot of tea and breakfast, she wrapped herself back in her layers and went to investigate the men she had cast the spell on.  When she exited the tent, the glare of the sunlight on the snow drove her back in side, cursing.  She blinked rapidly to clear her vision of the bright light and then grabbed a dark pair of sunglasses to protect her eyes from the glare.  In the bright light of the day, it was much easier to find her way around.  Once across the frozen river, she was led to the men’s house on sound alone.  It sounded as if they were having a wild party from the music and raucous laughter that was coming from the abode.  In fact, when she came within seeing distance, she could tell that was exactly what was happening.  Seven men were stumbling around in the snow, each carrying a various bottle of liquor.  She watched from a distance as they laughed at the most asinine of comments, none of them fit for the ears of children.  She felt a blush rise in her own cheeks as one of the men began to describe the female anatomy and its use in great detail.  _Oh my, I’ve never heard something so rude in my whole life!_  Knowing that her spell was having some effect, she retreated out of the weather and began to make plans to see how the men’s behaviour changed on a daily basis.

 

By the end of the week, Pansy was pleased with the progress of her machinations.  Of the seven men that had been effected, six where so sick from alcohol poisoning that they had been rushed to a large hospital in Canada proper by airplane.  The other one had succumbed to the cold after passing out in a snow bank in full view of the others.  They had simply left him there, too engrossed in their own drinking to care.  She glanced down at the enchanted parchment and discovered her next destination had appeared.  Korte, Slovenia.

 

**H~P**

 

_7 February 2003_

When Pansy reached Korte, Slovenia, the difference in the temperatures was a surprise to her.  She had assumed that Slovenia was like other countries during the winter, but it was mild.  When she reached the small village on the Mediterranean coast, she smiled at the greenery that surrounded her.  She decided to set up her tent in forest just outside of the village.  Once she was set up, she Disillusioned herself and began to walk around the enchanting town.  The peopled seemed friendly and definitely had less of a hardened edge about them than the occupants of Grise Fiord. 

 

As she wandered around, she wondered who could be good candidates to cast her spell on.  She studied everyone she passed, to categorise them into possibilities.  It was just before nightfall when she stumbled across a group of young men and women.  They appeared to be in their mid-twenties and from what she gathered from them after she cast a quick translation charm, they all roomed together in a remote house in the forest.  Pansy decided to follow them from the café where they were having an afternoon coffee together, but when they entered a large black van, she lost sight of them.

 

Sighing in frustration, she retreated to her tent to try to put together a plan of action.  As she mulled over her dinner, she realised that she would have to discover where the house was.  She had not managed to glean any idea of its location from her overheard conversation.  She just knew that it was in the forest.  Wondering if a locator spell would work on Muggles, she decided to see if she could find the one of the people the next day.  With her plan set, Pansy settled down to read some more into the Malfoy history. 

 

The next day found Pansy wandering around the quaint village in search of the group of young adults that she had discovered the previous day.  Unfortunately, her day passed without one sighting.  Pursing her lips, she wandered back into the forest close to her tent.  She settled into the wingback chair in the lounge area of the tent and grabbed a spell book that she had brought.  Flipping through the pages, she found a locator spell that she didn’t know.  It was a holdover from one of the Muggle world wars.  It was created to help wizards pinpoint any Muggles near them and prevent anyone from discovering magic.  Reading through the spell a couple of time whilst she practiced the particulars of the wand waving left her with hope that she would be able to cast the spell effectively. 

 

Taking a deep breath, she quickly cast the spell and waited to see what the result would be.  The text was not clear on exactly how she would know if there were Muggles around.  The effect was almost immediate.  To the north of her, a series of lights appeared.  There seemed to be a group of ten people close by.  As she moved closer to the light, it grew brighter.  Furrowing her brow, she moved in the opposite direction and watched as the light dimmed.  “Interesting,” she muttered to herself.

 

Using the spell, she quickly grabbed a light jacket and began to walk towards the light.  She followed the spell for a mile or so before a large estate house came into view. She quickly dismissed the spell and concentrated on the house, waiting for the inhabitants to fall asleep.  Feeling that she would be waiting for a while, she quickly transfigured a tree stump into a comfortable chair and settled down to wait.  Sometime around three a.m., the house finally fell silent. 

 

Pansy rubbed her eyes lightly, trying to rouse herself into full wakefulness as she had dozed off whilst she waited.  She quickly stretched and turned the chair back into the rock it had been initially.  She crept through the forest silently, avoiding stepping on branches to prevent her presence from being discovered.

 

When she reached the house, she drew a deep breath and closed her eyes.  As she had discovered in Grise Fiord, she felt the power building up within herself.  She began to focus her mind on establishing the feeling within the people in the house that they had just had come from a period of great hardship.  She tried to make them feel as if they had just come into a windfall of good luck.  When the power was finally raging to be release, she pointed her wand at the house and another beam of light engulfed it.    Pansy studied the light in fascination.  Compared to the light in Grise Fiord, this one was much darker, an ink colour.  Once the blackness had dissipated, she made her way back to her bed.

 

Over the following days, Pansy kept close tabs on her victims.  She knew that the spell had taken effect when a group of the men came to town and purchased an alarming amount of alcohol and food.  She followed the men back to the house to discover that there was an uninhibited party going on.  The women in the group were scantily clad in short shorts and tiny camisole shirts.  They were freely imbibing some of the alcohol as they postured suggestively in front of the men, batting eyelashes, running their hands over their bodies.

 

Pansy turned around as soon as the group’s clothes began to be discarded and quickly walked away.  It seemed as if they were feeding all of their desires, not just those for food and drink.  Wondering what would happen next, she meandered through the woods deep in thought.  She didn’t have long to wait.

 

The next day, sirens shattered the silence of Pansy’s morning tea.  Intrigued by the loud noises, she made her way into the centre of the town to find a riot going on.  At it’s focus, the group of men from the house.  From what she could gather, they had run out of money and in desperation broken into several stores to get the supplies they wanted.  As they fought with the police, other people had begun to get involved, causing widespread fighting across the town.

 

She stepped into an alley to avoid a fight and leant against the wall, just studying the results of her spell.  _Hmm, so if I can cause the panic, Blaise can cause even more fighting with his powers.  As the riots overtake the policing forces, Goyle would be able to cause plagues.  I wonder if this is how_ _Astoria_ _’s gift will come in.  Is she the person to clean up all the messes that we make?_

 

Keeping that in mind, she returned to her tent to await her next destination.  When she awoke the next day, her next stop was printed on the parchment.  Kilmia, Socotra, Yemen

 

**H~P**

 

_14 February 2003_

When Pansy landed on the island of Socotra in Yemen, she was delighted by the warm weather.  It felt as if it were last spring or early summer, instead of the middle of the winter.  As she glanced around the barren island, she realised that she was going to have very little cover, as in Grise Fiord.  With resignation, she quickly set up tent up and cast the necessary charms to ensure her protection.  She could feel the hairs on her neck standing up at the lack of camouflage in the exposed area and knew that she needed to get under cover as quickly as possible. 

 

Once the charms were set, she quickly retreated into tent, grateful to be within it impenetrable walls.  She fell into her normal routine of setting a pot of tea on to boil and grabbing a book to read as she waited for night to fall.  She had progressed in the Malfoy history to the middle ages.  She read about how the Malfoy’s had profited from the deaths of Muggles by selling various “cures” that supposedly would prevent the plague from affecting them.   Pansy held back a laugh at what some of these supposed cures held.  They truly were made of snake oil.  She shook her head and wondered how long they had managed to keep up the ruse before being run out of town and how the Malfoys themselves had kept from succumbing to the disease.  As far as she knew, even wizards were not immune from the bubonic plague.

 

Then she realised the flaw in her thinking.  The Malfoy’s were sticklers for cleanliness.  In fact, the history that she was reading, there were many cautions to not soil the Malfoy name by being slovenly.  _Well that explains a lot about that family,_ Pansy thought with suppressed laughter.  She flipped through the next series of pages, just scanning the entries for anything interesting.

 

After a couple of hours, she gave up and put the book aside.  The latter of the entries were routine and gave no new insights into the Malfoys.  Sighing, she checked the time and discovered that sunset would soon be arriving.  She quickly put together a supper before Disillusioning herself and walking towards the small village.  When she arrived, she realised that the town was even smaller than Grise Fiord.  There was no indication of wealth at any point in the town.  It seemed as if the people survived by gathering, hunting and planting various crops.  She saw no indication of the modern technology that she had come to associate with Muggles and it seemed as if she truly had stepped back in time. 

 

As she studied the people milling about, she knew what she had been doing would not be effective.  She wondered if she could actually use famine to ruin these people.  From what she could gather, they were very isolated and considering it was a part of Yemen, she wasn’t sure how quickly they could get aid.  _It doesn’t hurt to try,_ she finally concluded.

 

Furrowing her brow, she wandered back towards her tent as she tried to think of what she needed to do.  She knew that she had to create a famine; a famine that would stay confined to the island and one that would not result in a huge aid effort from the outside world.  Finally, she decided to follow her instincts.  They had served her well so far, so she didn’t think that she could fail miserably by doing that. 

 

She waited until after the last person had gone to bed and walked carefully into the centre of the village, making sure to keep herself Disillusioned.  It would not do to have someone wake up from a bad dream only to see her waving her wand about.  Thankful for the still warm temperatures, she settled down in the dirt.  Gathering her energy about her, Pansy closed her eyes and concentrated on the task at hand.  As before, she felt her energy rise in her.  At the point that she felt that she should release the energy she did, snapping her eyes open again.

 

Black light shot out of her wand.  She watched as it raced over the area and quickly lost sight of it.  She could only imagine that it was racing across the countryside.  Feeling drained, she staggered back to her tent.  Not bothering to undress, Pansy fell across her bed and into a deep slumber.

 

Over the next few days, she didn’t see much of a response to her spell, but Pansy was patient.  She knew that if it worked properly, the spell would take time to take its full effect.  So she checked up on the village only a few times.  On the fourth day, on her morning rounds, she heard shouting from the villagers.  Following the shouts, she found herself in the square again with women gesturing frantically at the pots that stored some of their supplies.

 

Pansy discreetly made her way over to them, only to find spoiled food.  Since she had been keeping watch on the women, she knew that they had only filled those jars the previous day and to find the contents already spoiled brought a satisfied smile to her face.  She let out a quiet breath of air.  Her experiment had worked.  She was able to cause different types of famine.  Quickly, she returned back to her tent to document her discovery and to await her next destination.  She knew that no matter where she was sent, she could handle whatever was thrown at her.

 

She had to wait an enlightening two days before the parchment gave her the next destination, but during those two days she kept close eye on the village.  It seemed to be disintegrating into open warfare, with those who had supplies being attacked by those who did not.  She knew that Blaise would be please with her findings when she returned.  Finally, on the morning of her seventh day on the island, her next destination was revealed.  Cabo Polonio, Uruguay.  She smiled.  _I’ve always wanted to go to the beach._

 

**H~P**

 

_21 February 2003_

When Pansy landed in Cabo Polonio, Uruguay, she smelt the tang of salt in the air.  She turned towards the rising sun as it glinted off of the Atlantic Ocean.  She heard the sound of sea lions and the gentle crashing of the waves.  In short, she was intrigued and amazed.  It felt like she was on a deserted island even though she knew she was just on a peninsula.  In fact, she could not see the lights that she had come to associate with Muggle towns.  There was an air of peacefulness in this timeless place that she had not felt since before she went to school.

 

Sighing, she turned away from the water, to survey the town, or rather the grouping of buildings that signalled her final stop in her quest to control her power.  It looked deserted, but she could hear the sounds of people moving around.  She surveyed the sand swept land and finally decided to set up her tent in the lee of a sand dune. 

 

As she unpacked her wardrobe, she grinned slightly.  Knowing that she was going to be visiting Muggle locations, when she had packed for the trip she had included an assortment of Muggle clothes as well.  That included a few swimsuits that she had seen on holiday.  She was looking forward to trying out the bikini that she had brought, in Slytherin green of course.  With that in the forefront of her thoughts, she slipped it out of the wardrobe and put it on.  As she looked in the mirror, she stared at herself critically.  Despite being as white as snow, she thought she could successfully pass as a Muggle.  She quickly grabbed her wand and cast a charm to protect her skin from burning.  She decided that she would spend the day observing the town and its inhabitants, and then she could formulate a plan of action.

 

Grinning, she grabbed a towel and her sunglass and made her way back to the beach.  She settled onto the towel and watched as people grabbed surfboards and ran into the waves.  She mesmerised to see how the men and women rode the waves.  She simply watched them for hours, her mind not focused on her mission.  Finally, as the heat soaked into her, her eyes began to drift shut and she fell asleep on her towel, dreaming of riding the waves.

 

When she awoke, the sun was still up, but it was beginning its westerly decline.  She quickly stood, noticing that the surfers were gone and there were small groups of people lingering on the beach and making their way into the water.  She decided to join them, at ease in the water from her family holidays in the Riviera.  She swam for a bit until she had cooled off and then walked out of water to the admiring gaze of the men on the beach.  She slipped off the beach and watching to make sure that she was not followed, she slipped back into her tent.

 

After a quick shower, she quickly through together a quick warm weather lunch of soup and salad before settling back into her research.  She was finally close to finishing the book from the Malfoy’s, although none of the later information was near and enlightening as the origins of the family.  As it turned out, by the time the Middle Ages has passed, the link between the Weasley’s and the Malfoy’s had almost been forgotten.  It was not surprising to her that the families had no clue about how closely related they had once been.

 

She had just reached the current era of the Malfoy’s when a yawn threatened to split her jaw in half.  She looked up and realised that the sun was setting.  Confident in her abilities to control her powers, she wrote off the day as relaxation and crawled into the bed.

 

The next couple of days became a repeat of the first.  She began each day watching the surfers and then retreated to her tent to read.  She could not seem to get the inspiration to bring any harm to this place.  She did not want to spoil its natural beauty nor the simplicity of the people who called this home.  Granted, from what she had learned and overheard, the core of the town that stayed year around was less than one hundred, but they had a thriving tourist business during the summer months.

 

On the fourth day, as she watched the surfers again, a shadow fell across her.  She looked up quickly, expecting to see Blaise standing before her in anger at her lackadaisicalness, but instead was she was greeted with the sight of one of the surfers.  She raised her hand to shade her eyes as she looked into his ocean blue eyes.

 

“Why do you not join us in the water?” he asked in a heavily accented voice.

 

“I have never surfed before,” Pansy admitted honestly.

 

“Ah, you are English,” he returned with a blindingly white smile.  “Come, I teach you.” 

 

Pansy looked at his outstretched hand and made a quick decision.  She was going to do something she wanted for once.  Reaching up, she grasped his hand as he pulled her to her feet.  He led her to the shoreline where a surfboard lay on the sand.  She watched as he showed her what she needed to do.

 

The next few hours passed quickly for Pansy and her surfer.  She found out that his name was Eduardo and he worked in the capital city as a teacher.  She smiled as he explained to her why he liked the job.  “It gives me the summer off to surf,” was his simple explanation.  After her surfing lesson—she spent more time falling off the surfboard than actually riding on it—he invited her back to his cabin for dinner.  Feeling cautious, she told him that she would meet him back on the beach after she’d had a chance to clean up.

 

As she walked into her tent, she smiled.  Sometime during her surf lesson, she had come to the decision that she was not going to inflict famine on the town.  She did not want to ruin the most peaceful place she had ever been to.  She would deal with the consequences of her decision later, but she was determined to forget her life until she was forced to go back to it.  With that in mind, she left the tent and her wand behind.

 

The remaining three days before her return to the estate were full of new experiences for Pansy.  She was fascinated to learn how Muggles cooked and cleaned.  Growing up in a Pureblood household she had never been exposed to what her family considered and inferior species.  To discover that they were not that different from wizards shocked her.  She had a new appreciation for Muggleborns. 

 

When Friday finally came around, Pansy rose before the sun in order to avoid her paramour.  While they had only pushed the relationship to the kissing stage, she knew that if she saw him before she left, she would not be able to block his image from Blaise’s Legilimency and she wanted to spare this town from his wrath.  So, she quickly packed the tent before taking out the parchment.  The jarring feeling of a hook behind her naval acted as a cold shower and as she spun away from the beach, she began to plan on how to break the news to Blaise.

 

**H~P**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, interesting information. There really was a famine during the 5th century A.D. The famine (from what I learned on Wikipedia) stretched from 400-800 AD and ultimately caused the Fall of Rome to Alaric I. He was the first Germanic leader to take the city of Rome around 410 A.D. For more information on Merovious, you can look him up on Wikipedia. He was one of the first kings in the Gaul region that became France. Some more interesting information will come up on him.


	20. Disturbing Dreams, Part Three: Earth

_31 January 2003_

 

Hermione Granger was frustrated.  Not with her work, it was as interesting as ever, but with the stalemate she was currently involved with Draco Malfoy in.  She knew that he was frustrated with the lack of information he was being given in regards to the successful location of Blaise and Astoria, but he had refused to speak with her as soon as he realised that she had actively recruited his family against him.

 

Deciding that she wanted to end the stalemate (albeit for extremely personal reasons since she found herself growing increasingly attracted to the proud and somewhat icy Slytherin), she Flooed Lucius and Narcissa to see what they could do to change things.

 

They both were concerned about Draco’s mental health and agreed instantly to meet with her in the cafeteria at St. Mungo’s.  After the two elder Malfoys had settled at the table with their food (Lucius’ nose slightly upturned at the rather poor fare), they looked expectantly at Hermione.

 

She gave a small sigh.  “Has Draco been talking to you?” she asked immediately.

 

Narcissa smiled, enjoying the bluntness of the woman.  “No, he has not.  He has completely withdrawn into himself.  If it was not for Willa making sure that he ate, I’m sure he would be back in your professional care by now.”

 

Hermione muttered a rather unflattering epitaph under her breath.  “He is rather upset with me because I will not fill him in on the progress that Harry and his team are making in locating Zabini.”

 

Lucius raised an elegant eyebrow.  “Why are you keeping this information from him?” the older man queried quietly.

 

Hermione raised her own eyebrow in response.  “Do you really want your son to go to Azkaban for murder?” she shot back.  “You know that he will kill Zabini when he finds him.”

 

“That traitorous bastard deserves the wrath of a Malfoy,” Lucius responded with hatred dripping from his words.

 

“Lucius,” Narcissa said calmly as she laid her hand on her husband’s arm.  “While I feel that Blaise deserves whatever Hell can be imposed on him, do you really want to condemn your own son for that vengeance?”

 

Hermione smiled at her ally.  “Exactly.  I am not willing to let Scorpius lose his father as well as his mother,” she said calmly.  “That is why I am not telling him all I know.  I just don’t know how to get that through your son’s very thick and stubborn skull.  Any ideas?”

 

Lucius and Narcissa shared identical smirks.  “Certainly,” Narcissa muttered as she patted Hermione’s hand.  “Distract him with yourself.  I know my son and I know that he is attracted to you.”  She giggled when Hermione flushed the red of a Weasley’s hair.  “I take it the attraction is returned.”

 

“Come to the manor tonight,” Lucius drawled.  “We will see if you can break through my son’s reticence.”

 

Hermione nodded as she felt her face burn.  “If you will excuse me, I must get back to my patients.”

 

Both Malfoys nodded as they watched her flee the table.  “I like her,” Narcissa muttered to Lucius. 

 

“She certainly has the fire that Draco needs,” Lucius commented as he looked down at his lunch.  “Care to go someplace to get an edible lunch?”

 

Narcissa nodded gratefully as they strode out of the cafeteria.

 

**H~P**

 

Hermione hurried out of the cafeteria, her thoughts in a muddle at the encouragement from the senior Malfoys.  _My, how times have changed.  The Malfoys are encouraging a Muggleborn to get into a relationship with their son.  Has the sun started rising in the west?_   Once she arrived back in the trauma units, she found herself too busy to wonder about any other possibilities as the casualties of a potions accident began to Floo in.

 

Seven hours later, Hermione was exhausted.  She wanted nothing more than to collapse onto her sofa and fall asleep, but knew that she had promised to go to Malfoy Manor for dinner.  Only her concern for the mental health of Draco kept her resolve.  She took a quick, hot shower, washing away the stress of the day before spelling her hair dry.  She decided to pull her hair back in a chignon, leaving a few curls free to soften the look.  She quickly applied her makeup and slipped into a new set of royal blue dress robes.

 

Taking one last glance of herself in the mirror, she grabbed her wand and Apparated to the manor.  The door opened as soon as the wards had identified her and Willa happily led her to the lounge, where all the Malfoys were residing; Lucius and Narcissa drinking brandy and Draco consuming a large glass of what looked like Firewhiskey.

 

“Hermione,” Narcissa said happily.  “Thank you for joining us.  Would you like a drink?”

 

“A brandy would be delightful,” she murmured back as she turned to look at Draco.  He was avoiding her gaze as he concentrated fully on his drink.

 

Narcissa noticed this and said rather impatiently, “Draco, don’t be rude.”

 

Draco’s head rose, defiance showing clearly on his face, but at the glare in his mother’s eyes, he acquiesced.  “Good evening, Healer Granger.”

 

Hermione pasted a smile on her face.  “Good evening, Draco.  How are you feeling?”

 

“Just peachy,” the moody man replied.  “If you will excuse me, I am going to prepare for dinner.”

 

Hermione sighed as she watched him walk away, pride stiffening his back.

 

Narcissa noticed her look and decided to take the woman aside for a small session of girl talk, a look sending Lucius scurrying out of the room mumbling something about making sure the Elves had dinner prepared correctly.

 

Narcissa settled on a green upholstered settee, patting the emerald material beside her.  “Don’t lose heart, dear.  He’s as stubborn as his father and I expect you will have a fight on your hands to break through his shell.  Just like I did.”

 

Hermione looked up in shock.  “But…” she trailed off as she realised that her question would be unbearably rude.

 

“You thought that Lucius and I had an arranged marriage,” Narcissa surmised.

 

Hermione nodded her head.  “From what I have learned about Pureblood society, I had assumed that, yes.”

 

Narcissa nodded.  “It is not far from the truth, but Lucius’ and my story is so much more.  You see, he was betrothed to Bellatrix, as was custom since she was first-born.  In order to acquaint them with each other, the Blacks and the Malfoys would often have Sunday brunch together.  Bella was three years older than Lucius and a horrid little girl.  She often teased him and bullied him incessantly.  Even in those days, I knew that Bella had a core of evil in her.  I am not surprised she ended up the way she did.”

 

Hermione felt a jolt of surprise that the matriarch was talking to her as frankly as she was and could not keep the surprise from her face.

 

Narcissa noticed it and returned a grin of her own.  “I am blunt like a Gryffindor,” she mused.  “The Sorting Hat gave me the option of either Gryffindor or Slytherin and I chose Slytherin.  I could not bear to break from family tradition like Sirius would, so I went with what was expected.  Lucius was just a year ahead of me in school and despite Bella’s best efforts we grew close.  More so after she had left school.  They were to be married after Lucius’ seventh year, so the week after he graduated, we eloped.”

 

Hermione gasped.  “How?  You were not of legal age yet,” she exclaimed.

 

“We found a priest that was willing to overlook that,” Narcissa said with a laugh.  “Bella was angry with me for months afterwards, but my parents didn’t care.  As long as the Blacks were aligned with the Malfoys, they were happy.”

 

“Why are you telling me this?” Hermione mused.

 

“My dear, I’ve seen the way you have grown to look at Draco and I know—as all mothers know—that my son is intrigued with you.  The stories he used to tell of you during school infuriated Lucius, but I knew.  He was drawn to you because of your fiery spirit and stunning intelligence.  You are a match for my son and I don’t care if you are a Muggleborn.  The children you shall create will be extraordinary.”

 

Hermione blushed as Willa walked into the room and announced that dinner was being served.  She and Narcissa rose and made their way into the dining room, to be greeted by a still sullen Draco and a reserved Lucius.

 

Dinner was a somewhat pleasant and also frustrating affair.  Despite their best efforts, Draco only answered their questions with monosyllabic responses.  Hermione tried to ease her frustration by being cheerful.

 

Once over, they retired again to the lounge with Narcissa and Lucius settling on the settee, while Hermione and Draco sat in the matching wing-back chairs that flanked them.

 

Hermione once again made pleasant conversation, while Draco staying silent, just staring into his drink.  Finally, the elder Malfoys had enough and both retired from the room, with the admonition to keep Hermione occupied.

 

After they left, the silence became oppressive until Hermione could take it no more.  “What in the bloody hell is wrong with you, Draco?”

 

Draco looked at her with a familiar contempt in his eyes before rising from the chair.  “Good night, Granger,” he drawled.  “I trust you know your way out.”

 

Hermione jumped up and grabbed his arm.  “Look Malfoy,” she shot back with her own sneer.  “I know that you are furious with me for not informing you of where the investigation is going, but did you ever stop to think why?”

 

“Because you are bloody part of the damned ‘Golden Trio’,” he sneered right back.  “No one else matters except the bloody red-hair idiot and the bumbling boy wonder.”

 

Hermione shook her head in disbelief.  “Can you really be that thick?” she muttered before answering herself.  “Of course you can.  You never really had a true friend and I think that is what we’ve become.  I’ve not told you what is going on because if you find out where Blaise and Astoria are, you will exact your revenge and leave your son fatherless while you rot in Azkaban, you fool!”

 

Draco started, not because she knew him well enough to know what he was planning, but that she cared enough to make sure that his son had a father.  He looked at her, his anger of the past months draining a little as he finally realised what she had been trying to tell him.  “You really don’t want me to go to Azkaban?” he finally asked quietly.

 

“Of course not.  I’m not one to hold a grudge for long, and from what I’ve heard you’ve been an amazing father.  It would not be fair for your son to lose both his mother and his father,” she returned softly as she drew him over to the settee to sit beside her.  “Please, Draco.  I know that this is hard for you, but why don’t you try talking about it instead?  I know that you want to rend Blaise limb from limb, but you have more than just your life in your hands.  Is petty revenge worth it or do you want your son to grow up knowing that his father had him in mind?”

 

Draco signed as he settled his face in his hands.  “Being an adult is utterly frustrating,” he finally muttered.  “I just want to have him back in my arms so much.  I’ve never really understood why my father did what he did to keep us safe, but after Scorpius was born I realised that I would move heaven and earth to keep him safe.  I’ve failed as a parent.”

 

Hermione let out a small sigh.  She knew that she had finally gotten through to him.  “Draco, you did what you could to keep him safe.  Blaise was your best friend and even though you were in Slytherin, you could never have expected him to be plotting what he was,” she told him in soothing tones.  “You need to let it go.”

 

Draco stared down at the small hand on his forearm before looking into a pair of understanding chocolate coloured eyes.   He felt something break in him and was unable to stop the tears from rolling down his face.  He tried to hide it, it was just unmanly to admit to this weakness, but she would have nothing to do with it.  He felt Hermione put her arms around him and began to mutter soothing nonsense as she rocked him, as if he was a child.  Surprisingly, he felt himself crumble a bit further, the weight of the events finally breaking through his tough shell.

 

Hermione breathed another sigh of relief when she finally felt him acquiesce to pain and anger he was holding on to.  She kept her arms around him, soothing him as best she could until his tears stopped.  She looked down and found that he had cried himself out, something she was sure had not happened since he was a small child and settled them back on the settee.  She was not going to risk awakening him from a sound sleep that she was sure he needed and felt her own eyes begin to close in emotional exhaustion.

 

_Hermione awoke in a winter wonderland and stared in awe that the snow covered hills that surrounded her.  Curiously, she did not feel the cold; only saw the effects of it.  Hermione looked around and finally spotted the tale-tell drift of smoke in the air that signalled that there was life indeed in what she had assumed to be a barren wasteland._

_Curiously, for that was one thing she had always been, she made her way towards the smoke.  It took her several hours of struggling through the thick granular snow before the sounds of the encampment finally reached her ears.  It was another half-hour before she could properly see the camp.  She stumbled into it, almost walking into a man so covered in furs that she was sure he was twice his normal size.  It took her a moment to realise that the man made no response to her presence.  “Sorry?” she asked politely, but there was no response._

_She walked over to a small group of women by the fire.  “Sorry,” she started again, but with the same result.  “Well this is extremely curious,” she mused as she came to the conclusion that the people could not see her.  “Am I a ghost?  Have I somehow died during my sleep?  No, that can’t be.  If I were a ghost, I’d been invisible.  Hmm.  I wonder if I am dreaming.  Extremely strange to have a dream where you can not be seen by people.”_

_Hermione continued to mutter to herself as she took in the small camp.  She could tell by the dwellings that she was not in_ _England_ _, unless it was the ice age.  Small igloos graced the land and seemed to have walls at least a few meters thick.  She quickly surmised that she was very far north.  Curiosity still nipping at her, she tried to decipher the language that was being spoken, but she had no idea even the general dialect that it was._

_Finally, after rounding the small camp, she went back and stood by the fire with the women, not that she was cold, but its flickering flames offered a sense of normalcy to her.  She looked up as she heard the unmistakable sound of a horse running on snow, which seemed to confuse the people surrounding her.  They moved closer to the fire, instinctively putting the women in the centre as a heavily clothed man appeared on a black, sickly looking horse._

_The men around raised stakes and bows to the man, shouting in their native tongue, but to no avail.  The man smiled cruelly as he raised his hands.  Black light shot from his palms and Hermione watched as the light enveloped the group.  If she had not been standing by the fire, she never would have believed what she saw.  Before her, on the spit, the meat being cook withered and decayed until nothing was left by bones._

_She kept staring at the fire until the shouts of the people surrounding her penetrated her confused mind.  She saw them pouring storage jars on the ground, but all that was left was rotting food.  She gasped when the realisation hit her.  Without food, they would starve and be left for dead on the frozen tundra._

 

Hermione awoke with a start, finding herself safe and back in Malfoy Manor.  As her pulse slowed, she realised that she was still holding a sleeping Draco in her arms and with a small smile of contentment, closed her eyes, blaming the weird dream on the emotional day that she had enjoyed.

 

**H~P**

 

_7 February 2003_

 

Over the following week, Hermione and Draco saw each other every single day.  He surprised her at work on Sunday with a quick lunch and then Monday she found herself pampered to an elegant dinner, cooked in her flat.  Both of them had begun to open up about themselves; Hermione told him what it was like to grow up in a Muggle family and Draco returned the favour with his tales of growing up in a Pureblood family.  They found that they had many things in common, including their favourite professors at Hogwarts and their taste in books.

 

While Draco was not the bookworm that she was, Hermione found it gratifying that he was just as well-read in Muggle classics as she were.  In fact, they had begun to spend their evenings sitting in front of the fire, discussing those classics.

 

When Friday finally rolled around, Hermione was grateful to finally have a day off.  She had told Healer Farley that since she had worked a fortnight straight due to the outbreak of the Wizarding Flu that she would not answer any calls from anyone associated with the hospital that day.  He had laughed and promised her until Armageddon was looming, he would not contact her.

 

Since Draco had been pampering her the entire week, she had decided to surprise him with a nice dinner and she was going to introduce him to the concept of Muggle entertainment, in the form of the movie _Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein._   It was her favourite rendition of the book and she was eager to see how Draco enjoyed it.

 

When she finally climbed out of her bed, it was afternoon and she yawned as she stretched.  She hadn’t slept a solid eight hours in months and enjoyed her lie-in.  She padded through the small flat while scraping her wild hair into a pony-tail with a hair bobble clenched in between her teeth.  Once she reached the kitchen and started a pot of tea, she scanned the pantry with a wince.  With the exception of a mouldy loaf of bread and jar of pickle juice, it was bare.  She sighed, realizing that she needed to go shopping if she was going to make a killer dinner for Draco.

 

Already making a list in her head, she backtracked to the bathroom to take a quick shower and wash her hair before she went to the market.

 

Three hours later, she was back from the market, growling under her breath about inconsiderate shoppers and realising that she had less than two hours to get everything together.  Quickly, she measured out all of the ingredients for the Alfredo sauce.  She knew that would be the easiest part of the dinner.  After done with that, she prepared a quick marinade for the chicken that she was going to grill on the indoor grill her parents had gotten her when she moved into the flat.  Once the chicken was marinating, she moved back to her bedroom get ready.

 

An hour later, Hermione was ready.  She was wearing a simple pair of black slacks and in honour of his Slytherin background an emerald green button-down blouse.  She had left her hair curly and partially pulled it back from her face and applied only the bare minimum of makeup.  Knowing that she had the time, she returned to the small kitchen and began to prepare the salad.

 

Thirty minutes later, everything was ready.  The salad was chilling under a cooling charm and she had set the small table in her kitchen with care.  She sighed as she glanced at her place settings, mentally comparing it to what Draco had grown up with at Malfoy Manor.  The plates and bowls didn’t match and neither did the silverware, but it was all she had and hoped that he could look past that.  She withdrew a pair of wineglasses from the cabinet before taking another look around the flat to make sure that it was tidy.

 

She had just put the chicken breasts onto the grill when she felt a magical knock on her wards.  Grinning, she walked to her door and opened it, finding a dapper looking Draco standing on her stoop, holding a bottle of red wine and a bouquet of morning glories.  She read the label with a raised eyebrow as she accepted both the wine and the flowers.  “Very nice,” she murmured.  “This will put my pasta to shame.” 

 

Draco smiled.  “It is my favourite red wine,” he said as he followed her into the flat.  He sniffed the air appreciatively and watched as she quickly transfigured a glass into a vase, filling it with water with another flick of her wand.

 

Hermione nodded as she handing him a corkscrew.  “Care to open it while I put the final touches on dinner?”   As he opened the wine, she checked on the chicken and threw the pasta into the Alfredo sauce to finish cooking.

 

They worked companionably for the next few moments, until the food was set upon the table.  Draco lit the candles and poured the wine once they had sat down.  He raised his glass of wine slightly.  “To new friendships.”

 

Hermione smiled softly as she looked into his grey eyes.  “To new friendships,” she returned as she raised her own glass to her lips.  As she sipped the wine, she took time to really taste the flavour as she rolled over her tongue.  She almost moaned in pleasure at the complexity of the taste.  It was easily the best wine she had ever had.

 

They talked over dinner and as they cleaned up, much as they had the previous week.  No subject was taboo to them, but they still avoided talking about the war and how each of them had dealt with the changes that had been wrought.  Once the kitchen was returned back to its normal spotless self, Hermione shot Draco a grin.

 

“I have a surprise for you,” she said as she led him into the living room and onto her sofa.  “I’ve told you a bit about Muggle forms of entertainment and I wanted to show you one.”

 

Draco looked confused as she opened an armoire that was opposite of the sofa.  He stared at the black box sitting on the shelf.  “What is that?” he asked.

 

“A telly,” Hermione responded with a smile.  “Muggles use them for entertainment and informative purposes.”

 

Draco looked at her in confusion.

 

Hermione kept smiling as she walked over to her VCR and put in the movie.  “Sit on the sofa,” she instructed as she turned on the television and turned off the lights and then joined him.  Hitting a button on the remote, she leaned back into the cushions and watched his face as it began to play.

 

Draco jumped when sound came out of the small box and pictures began to flash across the screen.  He felt Hermione put a hand on his leg and adopted her reclining pose.  In moments, he was enthralled.  “Wow, this is like seeing a play,” he murmured as he realized what he was seeing.

 

Hermione grinned as he was lost in the moving pictures across the screen and settled back, yawning slightly after the large meal and let herself be drawn into the intricacies of movie, before falling asleep.

 

_Hermione awoke to a forest of green.  Disoriented for a moment, she realised that she was in another dream.  Turning around, she studied the enchanting forest.  She stared in awe at the tall trees and enjoyed the mild climate.  Wondering where she was, she looked around for a path to follow and finally came across a game trail.  Curious to what she was supposed to see or do, she followed the trail until she began to hear the sounds of people talking._

_As she drew closer to them, she recognised some of what they were speaking as Latin and wondered if she was in_ _Italy_ _, but after studying her surroundings again, she quickly ruled that out.  Thinking hard, both of what she had seen in her previous dream as well as what she had learned from Harry and Ginny, she guessed that she was somewhere in Europe during the height of the Roman Empire, when it stretched from Italy all the way to Britannia.  Intrigued, she pulled closer and was able to understand some of what was being spoken._

_“Yes, Cila.  They say the horse and rider have been seen near here.  It brings tales of woe with it,” a dark haired woman was telling a blonde woman._

_“I don’t believe it, Jana,” Cila responded with a flick of her hair.  “They are just old wives tales.  Meant to scare the children than anything else.”_

_“Believe as you may, my friend, but I am leaving this place before it too is cursed,” Jana returned with a sneer.  “You would do well to heed my advice.”_

_Hermione listened to the exchange with interest._ “So, tales of a horse and rider.  There is a common thread to all of these dreams, but what do they mean?” _She walked around the village as she mused over what she was seeing.  As always, she was making lists in her head as she pondered the problem.  She realised that all the dreams featured horses and riders spreading destruction in their path._ “Now, where have I heard that before?”

_She was not surprised when, by nightfall, a deathly silence fell over the village.  She watched as a small group of villagers left, carrying what seemed to be all of their possessions on their backs.  Moments after they left, she heard the sound of the horse and vowed to make sure that studied what she was shown in great detail._

_She watched as the sickly, black horse once again appeared in the midst of the people.  The man on the back, she realised, only bore a superficial resemblance to the man that she had seen in her last dream.  His movements were the same, however.  He raised his hands, unaffected by the sounds of shouting around him and the black light encompassed the camp.  She watched before her eyes as food the people were holding rotting in their hands and shook her head in disbelief.  “Am I supposed to change this?” she muttered as the scene faded into nothingness._

 

She awoke on the sofa, safely wrapped in Draco’s arms and her heart stopped.  “Oh, Merlin?  Am I seeing his dreams?” she wondered aloud, knowing that the first dream did not occur until they had fallen asleep on the sofa in Malfoy Manor.

 

**H~P**

 

_14 February 2003_

 

The following week, Hermione found that she had very little free time.  With the Valentine’s holiday upon them, there was an extraordinary influx of witches and wizards trying new charms and potions to attract a date for the big night.  She had only seen Draco a handful of times during the week, and those were just because he dragged her away from her patients long enough to reenergise with food.  She had even taken to sleeping in the staff lounge, just so she did not have to travel very far when the inevitable call came in.

 

Finally, Friday rolled around and she managed to catch a break.  New cases dropped, but she knew that it was only a lull.  As soon as the night was over, there would certainly be an influx of woman requesting the morning after potion as well as heartbroken lovers whose night did not go as planned.  With the break, Hermione planned on catching up on much needed sleep.

 

She was startled out her dreams by the ringing of her phone.  Groggily, she reached out a hand and wondered why her parents would be calling her on Valentine’s Day, since they knew what kind of hours she had been working.  “H’lo?”

 

“HERMIONE!  WAKE UP!”

 

“Merlin, Ginny!  You don’t have to yell!” Hermione shot back as she held the phone away from her ear.

 

“Sorry,” Ginny said with a normal voice.  “I’m not used to this fellytone.”

 

“Telephone, Gin,” Hermione responded automatically as she sat up.  “Why in the world are you calling me?  I’ve been at work all week.”

 

“I’m calling you, because I want to make sure that you are awake, silly.  I know that Draco has something planned, so get your arse in the shower and make yourself presentable.”

 

“Really?” Hermione returned, surprise in her voice.  She knew that they were not dating, per se, but the fact that Draco had something planned for Valentine’s Day made her heart skip a beat.  “Okay, I’m awake and getting in the shower.  Have a good night, Ginny and make sure that you keep yourself safe.”

 

Ginny giggled.  “Bye, Hermione!”

 

Hermione just shook her head as she hung up the phone.  She ran her hand through her hair and groaned as she encountered a couple of tangles before climbing from under the sheets.  Keeping Ginny’s advice in mind, she made her way into the hot shower.

 

Thirty minutes later, she was standing in front of her closet, wondering what she was going to wear, when she felt her wards twinge.  She threw her dressing gown around her before walking to the door, to find Draco standing behind it clutching a bouquet of morning glories.  As she let him in, she studied what he was wearing; a pair of well worn jeans, a thick dark green cable-knit sweater and a leather jacket.  “You look amazing,” she commented as she took in the sight.  “Ginny warned me that you had something planned, but I had no idea how to dress.”

 

“Casual, but warm,” Draco responded with a smile as he conjured a vase for the flowers.

 

“Give me a few minutes,” Hermione said with a wink.  She was not known for taking an extraordinary amount of time getting ready, but she still wanted to make sure that she looked her best.  With that in mind, she quickly spelled her hair back into a high ponytail, and applied a bare minimum of makeup.  She grabbed her favourite pair of dark jeans out of her wardrobe and a soft brown cashmere sweater that her mother had given her for Christmas.  Then, she quickly grabbed a pair of low-heeled, calf-high brown boots and slipped her feet into them, tucking the jeans into the boots.

 

Taking one last glance at herself in the mirror, she took a deep breath before walking back into the living room.

 

Draco looked up as she walked in, appreciation glowing in his eyes.  “Wow, Granger,” he breathed.  “I must say, you make these Muggle clothes look amazing.”

 

Hermione grinned as she felt her cheeks heating up.  “Thanks.”

 

Draco just smiled as he walked towards her and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.  “Where is your coat?” he asked.

 

Hermione turned to a small closet next to the door and opened it.  “Muggle or Wizarding?” she asked.

 

“Muggle of course.”

 

Shaking her head, she withdrew black double-breasted wool coat.  Draco took it from her hands and helped her into it, before winding a scarf around her neck.  “Where are we going?” she asked.

 

“It’s a surprise,” he responded as he pulled her into a hug.  “Are you ready?”

 

Hermione sighed.  She really hated side-along apparition.  “All right,” she said as she shut her eyes as the feeling of being squeezed through a tube encompassed her.  When she opened her eyes, she saw a winter wonderland in front of her.  They were in a snow covered meadow, stars twinkling brightly above them.  As she turned she saw a blanket laid out with a picnic basket resting on it. 

 

“Do you like it?” Draco asked softly in her ear.

 

“It’s beautiful.  Where are we?” she asked with wonder in her voice.

 

“The Malfoy estate in the Swiss Alps.  Happy Valentine’s Day.”  Draco led her over to the blanket and cast a warming charm before opening up the basket.  He extracted a puff pastry and plate of crackers.  “Are you hungry?”

 

“A little bit.  What is that?”

 

“Baked brie with raspberry preserves.”

 

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

 

“I didn’t cook it.  Willa is responsible for the amazing food.  Honestly, I tried to help her, but after ruining one pan by trying to boil water, she chased me out of the kitchen with a knife in hand.  I was terrified to return,” he said seriously, but with a twinkle in his eyes.

 

Hermione giggled as she scooped a little of the mixture onto a cracker.  She closed her eyes in pleasure at the flavour of baked cheese.  “This is amazing,” she managed to say after she swallowed.  “Give her my compliments.”

 

Draco just smiled as she lifted another brie smeared cracker to her mouth.  He marvelled at the feeling of rightness that was infusing him; something he had never felt with Astoria and for a moment he panicked.  But the warmth of the spell and the play of the moonlight on Hermione’s face eased the worries.

 

Hermione studied Draco’s face, clearly visible in the moonlight.  He looked relaxed for the first time since he had awoken in the hospital.  She knew that all of the work she had put in with both him and his parents to keep him from breaking had paid off.  It had helped that Harry said that they were getting closer to finding out where Blaise and Astoria had gone.

 

They didn’t say anything else while he extracted the main course from the basket.  It was a plateful of lamb shish kebabs.  They kept to their silence, enjoying not feeling the need to fill it with meaningless conversation.  Once done with the kebabs, Draco extracted the final course.  Luscious chocolate covered strawberries and flutes of chilled champagne.

 

Hermione grinned as he brought out the strawberries.  She knew that he had not spared any thoughts to making this a special meal and she was enjoying the romantic atmosphere.  The silence was giving her time to reflect on her growing feelings for her former enemy.  She knew that he had changed completely since they had left Hogwarts and the man he had become drew her like no other had.  Her feelings weren’t like the ones she had for Ron; Draco eclipsed those easily.  He stimulated her intellect and her passion.  While Ron’s kisses had been sloppy and overly ardent, Draco’s were soft, tender and toe curling. 

 

Draco seemed to sense those thoughts and conjured up a few fluffy pillows to recline against as he pulled her next to him.  Gingerly he lifted the first strawberry to her lips, watching with a bated breath as her teeth pierced the fruit gently.  The juice coated her lips and before she could lick it off, he captured her lips with his, tasting the sweetness and her own unique flavour.  “Delicious,” he muttered as he pulled back, setting the strawberries to the side before kissing her again.

 

Hermione gave herself up to the feelings that were building low in her body.  She didn’t care about rules or whatever polite society said was correct, she wanted to move to the next step in their relationship.  With that in mind, she ran her hands down his back, to the bottom of his sweater and slipped her hands underneath, to caress the warm skin at the small of his back.

 

Draco growled softly as he realised what she was giving him permission for and moved his lips down to her neck, suckling the soft skin there, delighting in her gasp of pleasure.  He moved his own hands underneath the soft cashmere and began to stroke her skin, slowly moving towards her lace covered breasts.

 

Hermione moaned as Draco’s thumbs traced across her hardened peaks, arching her back.  “Draco, please…”

 

He pulled back, wanting to make certain.  “Do you want this?” he asked her lowly, his voice husky with desire.  “This was not my intention of how tonight would end.”

 

Hermione choose not to answer in words, she dragged her hands up his back and pulled the green sweater over his head before turning them over and straddling his hips, causing both of them to moan at the friction.

 

Draco returned the favour and pulled her sweater off, murmuring his appreciation at the emerald green lace encasing her breasts.  He quickly pulled the lace from her body and sat up, trailing his lips down her neck.

 

Hermione panted lightly as she shifted in his lap, craving the friction as the desire began to spiral out of control.  She could feel his hardness, even with the heavy jeans separating them and once more moaned as his lips found their goal.  His tongue traced her areole before pulling it into his mouth with a gentle but firm pressure.  Hermione tangled her hands in his silky hair, holding him in place as her hips pushed into his.

 

A sudden flash of bright light caused her to open her eyes and she began to curse fluently as she recognised the Patronus of Healer Farley.

 

“What?” Draco asked as she pulled back.

 

“Healer Granger.  Your presence is required immediately at St. Mungo’s.  I am truly sorry to disturb your sleep.”

 

Hermione muttered some uncomplimentary things under her breath as she quickly grabbed her bra and stood.  “I am so sorry, Draco,” she said softly.

 

“Hey,” he returned softly as he pulled his own sweater over his head.  “It’s not your fault.”  He waved his wand a couple of times and the picnic packed itself up and then with another swish, the basket sped away from them.  He helped her into her coat and then pulled her into his arms.  “Do you need to go home first?”

 

Hermione shook her head, knowing that if it was bad enough to send her a Patronus, she didn’t have the time to go home first.  “No, but I had better Apparate us.  Only healers have the ability to Apparate directly into St. Mungo’s.”

 

Draco nodded as he closed his eyes.  He hated side along apparition as much as she did.  Within seconds they were inside the bustling emergency department and he stared in shock at the multitude of injured people screaming for help.

 

“Dear God, what in Merlin’s name could have happened?” Hermione gasped as she tore herself out of his arms and towards the nearest Healer.  “What happened?”

 

“Explosion at _The Silver Doe_ ,” the man answered. 

 

Hermione gasped.  _The Silver Doe_ was the most popular restaurant in Diagon Alley.  It was a romantic restaurant that she knew for a fact had been booked to capacity for the holiday.  She withdrew her wand and moved to the person closest to her.  “How are the patients getting here?” she questioned as she began to cast spell after spell to stabilise the writhing patients.

 

A loud crack distracted her as she moved forward and she turned to see Harry and Ron bringing in more patients.

 

“Aurors,” Harry responded.  “We’re bringing all of the people who survived here.”

 

Hermione nodded as returned her attention to the pain filled room.  She narrowed her focus down to the patients and keeping them alive as more and more Healers Apparated into the building, most still wearing their street clothes.

 

Hours passed, but Hermione didn’t let up.  She was pushing herself past her limits and knew that she was going to pay for it, but didn’t stop until the last patient had been treated.  She sagged onto the floor, not sure if the man was going to make it or not.

 

“Mione?”

 

She looked up into the concerned eyes of Ron.  “Hey,” she said wearily.

 

“Hey.  Draco wanted me to make sure that you got home safe.  His parents called him back to the Manor,” he told her as he helped her to her feet.  “He saw how hard you were working and knew that you would probably fall asleep once you stopped moving.”

 

“He’s pretty close to the point,” she returned, a yawn overtaking her.  “Take me by Floo, please.  If I Apparate right now, I’ll probably throw up.”

 

Ron nodded before extracting his own wand and casting a cleaning spell over her, removing all the traces of blood from her clothes.

 

“Thanks,” Hermione said as she let him lead her to the Floo and home.

 

_Hermione awoke to bright sunlight washing over a barren landscape.  Sparse wheat coloured grass grew in clumps and rocks were numerous.  The sparse landscape did nothing to hinder her sight and was surprised to see the tell-tale sign of smoke in the distance.  Sighing, she began to make her way towards it.  Wondering what she was going to see._

_As she got closer to the smoke, she began to hear the sounds of waves crashing against the shore and began to smell the salt that signified that she was close to the ocean.  She could hear gulls calling and wondered how anyone could live in such a barren place._

_When the people came into view, she was shocked by their leanness.  They were as thin as one could be without being too malnourished to affect their health.  They had obviously figured out a way to make the ocean water drinkable, since she had not seen signs of fresh water during her walk towards them._

_She kept her distance from the dark skinned people as she studied them, trying to guess where in the world she was.  She hazarded a guess that she was possible somewhere in the_ _Middle East_ _, but other than that, she was not sure.  She raised her hand to shade her eyes and noticed a few boats bobbing just beyond the surf and realised that they were fishing._ “Interesting.  I suppose, you could get all of your nutrition from the sea, from protein from fish to the carbohydrates from kelp.  I wonder where they sleep.  I see no sigh of dwellings here,” _she thought.  She decided she would settle on a little rise and watch the people as the day drew to a close._

_She was correct in her assumptions that they were not sleeping on the coast. As the sun began its descent, the boats pulled in and the men and women standing on the coast helped to pull out the nets filled with fish and plants.  She followed them as they walked inland, opposite from the direction she had awoken in.  Soon she was walking in sight of about a dozen grass huts that decorated the landscape.  She watched as they split the fish into to different piles, one being cooked over the head and the other being buried in the coals and she knew that they were preserving it._

_As the night deepened, she watched at the people celebrated their large catch with music from carved flutes and drums.  The pounding rhythm entered her chest and she found herself unable to stay still.  Infected by the music she got up and began to dance along side them.  All too soon, the drums could not block out the sounds of hooves clattering on hard rocks and hard packed earth._

_Hermione stopped her dancing, her heart dropping in her chest as she realised what she was about to see. The sickly black horse came to a rest a metre from the group.  The men picked up spears, but the man on the back of the horse just laughed before light engulfed them.  She watched in horror as the fish rotted on the fire and as the anger rose in her chest she withdrew her wand and fired a useless spell towards the man.  “Damn it.  You are just in a bloody dream, Granger.  Get a grip,” she berated herself as the dream began to fade._

 

Hermione shot up in bed, wondering how she ended up there before remember Ron bringing her home.  She turned to the side and realised that she’d had a dream and not when she was with Draco.  “Why is this happening to us?  What does this mean?”

 

**H~P**

 

_21 February 2003_

Hermione gave her dream little thought over the following days.  She and the other Healers at St. Mungo’s had their hands full trying to save the patients that they could from the explosion at _The Silver Doe._   She had only seen Draco in passing since Valentine’s Day, much to their mutual frustration.  She couldn’t help it.  The explosion had not been a normal one.  It had been set with mass destruction in mind; the restaurant had been at full capacity with a full wait and cook staff.  As a result more than one hundred and fifty people had been directly affected by the blast.  When you added in surrounding buildings and people waiting for tables, well there was no wonder that all of the Healers were practically living on Pepper-up potion.

 

Finally, on Wednesday, Hermione caught a break.  They had managed to stabilise the remaining patients, but as Hermione thought about it, the number of people killed was staggering.  Out of the over two hundred people that had been directly affected, more than one hundred had succumbed to their injuries.  When she finally left the hospital, for the first time since she had worked herself into exhaustion, she immediately Apparated to Grimmauld Place to meet with Harry, Ron and Ginny.

 

“Hermione!” Ginny screeched as soon as she appeared in the library.  “You got away.”

 

Hermione sighed as she settled onto the sofa.  “I’m exhausted, but the bright side is that I’ve been told not to come back to work until Sunday at the earliest, unless there is another major event.”

 

Ginny smiled and she raised her eyebrows.  “Do you have plans with Draco?”

 

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him much.  I plan on Flooing him after I leave here.”  She turned and looked around the room.  “Where are Harry and Ron?”

 

“Eating.  They’ve been working eighteen hour days to try to find out who caused the explosion in the _Doe._ ”  Ginny shuddered.  “I am so thankful that we decided not to go out to dinner on Friday.”

 

Hermione nodded emphatically.  “What about Ron and Luna?  I haven’t seen you guys enough to see how things are going there.”

 

Ginny’s hands flew to her mouth as she giggled.  “Merlin,” she said between laughs.  “There are the perfect couple.  Luna goes on and on about whatever is on her mind and Ron just smiles indulgently.  They are so cute!”

 

Hermione giggled.  “I feel like I’ve missed so much these last few months.  It has been so crazy with the investigation, trying to keep Draco from losing his head and of course my job.”

 

Ginny nodded.  “How is Draco doing?” she asked quietly.

 

Hermione sighed.  “Better now that his parents and I have made it a point to make sure that he is talking to us.  I am concerned that if we don’t find out what has happened soon, he may relapse into his depression.”

 

Ginny nodded, knowing how she had felt the year that the trio had taken off from Hogwarts.  Not knowing if they were alive or dead had eaten her entire family up is worry, but at least they had known that the three of them were capable of taking care of themselves.  She couldn’t imagine what Draco was feeling.  “I think you have your work ahead of you with him.”

 

Hermione nodded as she heard Harry and Ron footsteps coming towards the library.  She smiled as they came into view with their usual exuberant greetings and bear hugs.  “Okay.  You wanted to see me and please make it as quick as possible.  I plan on sleeping the next twenty-four hours.”

 

Both men nodded, noting the dark rings around her eyes that were even worse than when she had been studying for her NEWTS.  “Basically,” Harry began.  “We want to give you a heads up where we are in the investigation.  We have narrowed the search down to the Americas or Africa.”

 

“I personally think that they are in Africa,” Ron interjected.  “It’s remote and full of ancient magics.”

 

“I, on the other hand, believe that they are in the States.  Astoria and Blaise strike me as a people who could not live without their luxuries.”

 

“Those are two huge tracks of land,” Hermione mused.  “Why those two?  Why not Asia or any of the other continents?”

 

“Records of transactions that Blaise’s investors have made for him.  They are centred on those two places.  Plus, we are certain that Sebastian St. Clair is in fact a mole, even though all the tracking spells that we have access to have found nothing.”

 

“Is this like how you were certain that Professor Snape was evil?” Hermione asked with a frown.

 

Both men winced at the accusation.  “No,” Ron said quickly.  “This is based on solid investigation.”

 

Ginny looked at Hermione.  “Okay, I can see the wheels turning in your head.  What are you thinking about?”

 

“Sebastian.  He is obviously intelligent and he knows by now that you are on to him, why hasn’t he just disappeared?”

 

“He has,” Harry said with steel in his voice.  “I believe that he is the one that set the trap at the _Doe._   All Aurors were pulled in to deal with that and he never arrived.  He’s off the map.  Not even George’s tracking spells have found him.”

 

“Interesting,” Ginny replied as she thought.  “Are you sure that he wasn’t one of the victims?”

 

Ron sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.  “That’s the problem.  There are at least three sets of remains that we have not been able to identify.  You should know the problem, Hermione.”

 

Hermione nodded as Ginny looked at her in puzzlement.  “There was an unknown potion integrated in the bomb.  Even the researchers at St. Mungo’s haven’t been able to break the potion down to its base components.  Most of the samples that we have are too degraded to test properly.  We believe that this potion is what has caused the great number of deaths.”  She grimaced.  “There are theories that this potion attacks a person’s magical core.”

 

Gasped sounded out around the room.  “That’s just…” Ginny trailed off.

 

“Those that were around the flashpoint of the bomb were most heavily damaged because they could not magically protect themselves from the initial blast,” Hermione continued.  “Their magically cores were drained completely and since most Healers use the magical signature that is innate to witches and wizards to identify them, there is no way to conclusively identify the bodies.”

 

Harry and Ron looked at each other intently before Ron said, “Okay.  We’ll go with your idea Harry.  We should contact the American Aurors and see if they can track Sebastian down there.”

 

Harry nodded, an intent gaze in his eyes as he caught Hermione yawning.  “Mione, why don’t you go home?  Get some sleep; you look like you need it.”

 

Hermione nodded before standing.  “All right.  Anything about this I can’t tell Draco?”

 

Harry nodded.  “Just keep our suspicions about the whereabouts of Blaise and Astoria away from him.”

 

“Okay.  Good night.  I hope we can have a proper catch up sometime soon,” Hermione responded between her yawns before Apparating back to her flat.

 

**H~P**

 

When Hermione finally awoke on Friday morning after sleeping the majority of the previous day, she stretched luxuriously in the bed and planned on a long hot bath to pamper herself.  So, she walked into the bathroom and filled her tub with her favourite bubble bath and cast a charm to keep the water at the perfect temperature.  Then she lowered the lights and lit some scented candles and flicked on her Muggle radio to some easy listening tunes. 

 

As she soaked in the warm, almost hot water, she felt the stress of the previous week melt away and her thought returned to her interrupted Valentine’s Day.  A blush crept up her face at her wanton behaviour with Draco, but she knew that she was ready for that step.  She had been keeping her feelings for him under wraps until they had finally clicked.  She didn’t want him to continue to use her as an emotional crutch and knew that he was now in a place to prevent that.

 

She climbed out of the bath when her skin finally resembled a prune and she felt her muscles reached the state of pure relaxation.  She wrapped herself into a plush robe and as she walked into the kitchen, she heard her Floo activate.

 

“Hermione?  Are you awake?” Draco’s voice called out.

 

Hermione smiled as she walked in to see Draco’s disembodied head floating in green flames.  “Yes.  I’ve been up for a bit.  Why don’t you come through?”

 

Draco’s head disappeared for a moment then the green flames shot higher as he stepped through and pulled her into a hug before kissing her lightly.  “You look better than the last time I saw you,” he said as he pulled back slightly.

 

“I slept all of yesterday.  I didn’t realise how exhausted I really was until after my meeting with Harry and Ron.”

 

Draco raised an eyebrow.  “About what?” he questioned carefully, hoping that she would give him some information on his son.  Even though talking to her and his parents had made him more rational, he was still a Slytherin and wanted to weasel any information out of her that he could.

 

Hermione hid a smirk at his obvious attempt to get information out of her and decided to indulge him.  “They suspect that one of their Aurors is an informant for Blaise and Astoria.”  She held up a hand as Draco began to open is mouth, his face reflecting his surprise and anger.  “They have been feeding him false information, but they believe he is behind the bombing in Diagon Alley.  They think that he did that in order to escape since he is no where to be found.”

 

Draco stepped away from her, feeling his magic beginning to crackle around him as he fought to keep his emotions in check.  Ruthlessly, he pushed it back down, letting the anger burn slowly. 

 

Hermione watched in amazement as light began to surround Draco, his fingertips turning red.  She stepped forward as she sensed him struggling with his anger and quickly cast a couple of shield charms to protect them.  “Draco?” she asked as she sensed the magic losing its power.  “Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine,” he returned shortly.

 

Hermione sighed before deciding to confront him.  “You are not fine, Draco Malfoy.  You are so angry that you have magic shooting from your fingertips.  And I just saw you ruthlessly push that anger away,” she told him calmly.  “You can’t do that.  It is just going to harm you.  Do you know that if you keep pushing the anger away then eventually it will turn on you?  Now, in a Muggle that’s not too bad.  They just become more destructive, but in a wizard…It will make your magic turn on you and become uncontrollable.  It will kill you, Draco Malfoy and as much as I never thought that I would admit this, I like you alive.”

 

Draco looked at her in shock and felt his anger drain away.  “Really?”

 

“Yes, really,” she responded, dismissing her shields as she felt him calm.  “Don’t keep it inside, Draco.  I know that you are angry, but I promise you this.  We will find your son.  After all, we took down Voldemort.”

 

Draco chuckled at her tone.  “Any news on Blaise and Astoria?”

 

“Harry and Ron have a couple of leads, and no I will not tell you what they are.  You are a Slytherin and you will use that information against us.”

 

“Cheeky witch,” he murmured as he pulled her back into a hug.  “What do you want to do today?” 

 

“I want to be lazy,” she responded instantly.  “After being so busy this week, I just need a day to recharge completely.”

 

Draco kissed the top of her head.  “Why don’t you come back to the Manor with me?  We can explore the library.”

 

Hermione’s eyes lit up at the thought.  She had seen the sheer number of books in the Malfoy’s library and the idea of being able to explore at her will was calling to her.  “Deal.  Let me get dressed and I’ll be right with you.”

 

**H~P**

 

Hermione looked up from the text she was reading on the Dark Arts to find Draco studying her.  “What?” she asked.

 

“I like watching you read.  You get this little frown line right here,” he said as he touched a spot between her eyebrows, “when you read something that you don’t like.  From the amount of frowning you were doing, I don’t think that you like what you are reading.”

 

Hermione smiled, a frisson of awareness passing through her at his touch.  “Not particularly.  I just can’t imagine embracing the Dark Arts.  It seems so…so evil.”

 

“It is.  That is why it is called the Dark Arts,” Draco said stoically.  “Purebloods didn’t use to be like that, you know.  We just wanted to preserve our society and yes it did get out of hand.”

 

Hermione smothered a small yawn.  They had been reading for close to six hours after dinner and she was getting a bit tired.  “I can respect wanting to preserve your history, I just disagree with the methods that were used.”

 

“I’ve grown to understand that after the war was over.  Part of my reparations that I was demanded to make by the Wizengamot was that I had to learn about Muggles, their history and their technology.  What I learned was fascinating.  It is amazing all of the things that Muggles created that reflect things that we do by magic without a thought.”

 

Hermione tried to suppress a smirk at the admiration that coloured his voice.  “See, Muggles aren’t all bad.”

 

“Not all, but some of them are dreadful,” Draco said drolly as he saw her try to smother another yawn.  “You look tired.”

 

“A little, but I’m having too much fun to want to go home.”

 

“Only you could consider hours spent in a library as fun, Granger,” Draco responded.

 

Hermione giggled.  “Have I mentioned that I love books?”

 

“Maybe once or twice,” he said as he thought.  “Do you want to stay here tonight?”

 

Hermione thought about it as he put an arm casually around her shoulders.  She wanted to, but wasn’t sure if she should.  She was still embarrassed over her behaviour the previous week and even though it felt right at the time, she knew that time had passed.

 

Draco seemed to sense her confusion and tried to reassure her.  “I can have Willa make up a spare bedroom.  As much as I want you in my bed, I don’t think that we are ready for that step,” he said honestly.

 

Hermione sighed.  “That would be lovely then.”

 

Draco nodded and a few moments later he was directing her to a bedroom next to his.  “Your room, my lady,” he said with a deep bow.

 

Hermione smirked as she curtsied.  “Why thank you, good sir.”

 

Draco chuckled again.  “I am right next door if you need anything and don’t hesitate to call for Willa if you need to.”

 

“Thank you and good night,” Hermione said as she stood on her tiptoes to give him a slight kiss that turned steamy very quickly.  Reluctantly, they both pulled away before they let themselves get out of control.  “I’ll see you in the morning,” she said as she quickly walked into the room.

 

_Hermione felt the sun on her skin, basking her in warmth not associated with_ _England_ _.  She opened her eyes to see miles of sandy beaches and crashing waves.  She could hear the sounds of animals and birds surrounding her.  She walked along the beach, looking back to see her footprints in the sand, and wondered why she had been brought here.  She knew that there was the common thread of destruction to her dreams, as well as the ones that she had discussed with both Harry and Ginny, but she didn’t know why.  Resigning herself to the horror that she knew she was about to face, she continued her walk._

_When she finally found a group of people, she literally stumbled into their midst.  She had made her way over a large pile of rocks that jutted into the ocean and lost her footing, causing her to stumble down._ “Great, even in my dreams I’m uncoordinated,” _she thought as she looked up to find herself amongst a large group of people.  She looked at the group, noticing their tanned skin and lack of the majority of clothes and black hair.  The lack of clothing made sense to her since they were on a seemingly tropical beach in summer, but in what country, she had no idea._

_Hermione settled back on the sand, enjoying the laid back atmosphere for as long as she could.  All too soon she heard the familiar sounds of a horse in full gallop.  She knew that the group had heard them as well as they had stood as one.  They faced north, from where the sound was coming from.  A young woman emerged from the middle of the group, a look of determination on her face._

_The woman stood in front of them and when the rider came into view, she said something to him with a warning in her tone.  Hermione watched as the man laughed at her and returned her words with a few of her own.  The woman flinched, but stood her ground, stretching her arms out to the side.  As the rider raised his own arms, she began to chant.  The earth began to tremble beneath their feet.  Before the black light could engulf the people, a wall of earth shot up protecting them from its awful light._

_Hermione watched in amazement as the light tried to bypass the barrier several times, but the earth moved to protect them each time.  Finally, the wall dropped completely and the woman shouted something at the man, who sneered in return.  He brought his hands up again, but there was a loud crack.  She watched with her mouth open in shock, as the horse reared and danced back when the ground began to tremble beneath it.  The horse just managed to reach safety behind it when the ground disappeared beneath its feet._

_The rider threw a glare in the direction of the woman, who smirked in response.  Her posture seemed to ask the man if he wanted to continue to try her patience.  The man finally shook his head.  He quickly turned and returned from the direction in which he had come.  Disappearing into the sunset._

Hermione awoke, gasping for air.  Her dream had been powerful and confusing.  As she looked at the door of her suite, she shook herself awake before deciding to call Willa to bring her a cup of tea.  There was no way she was going to fall back asleep anytime soon.

 

 

**H~P**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hermione seems close to figuring out what the dreams are meaning, but since when did her life go that easy? There was also some Dramione action in there and I promise some more of that in chapter 22. As always, if you have questions, feedback or anything, please review! I love to hear the feedback and reviews make my day!


	21. Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to my wonderful friend Cheryl for the quick beta and Brit-pick for me!

Astoria knew that when Pansy left, she was losing her only ally.  Not that they were that close, but she felt a certain kinship to the woman since she helped save her son.  The only thing that kept going through her head was that she was entirely grateful to the fact that no matter what happened, her son was safe.

 

The more she listened to Blaise’s megalomaniacal speeches, the more she realised that none of them were going to survive.  She had no hope that people, Wizarding or Muggle were going to accept what he had planned.  Not that she dared to speak those thoughts aloud.  Blaise would beat her within an inch of her life if he even suspected that she was not devoted to the cause.

 

The month went by in relative peace, but she kept feeling the pressure of her upcoming trial build.  She wondered at one point if it would be possible for her to escape to London for a day and let someone know exactly what was coming, but then Blaise let something slip.  He had just slipped out of her bed, assuming that she was asleep and muttered, “Oh, good.  Pansy has moved on to the next destination.”

 

Fear curled in her stomach as she understood that he was tracking them all on their journeys, but she was not surprised.  After committing to the relationship that she was in, she came to understand that he was a very paranoid person and she fully expected that if his bid for power was successful, the three of them would be eliminated.  He did not trust anyone and they would cease to be his helpers, they would be his rivals at that point.  Needless to say, she spoke little after that.  She didn’t want to give him any cause to doubt her.

 

Valentine’s Day came and left with no celebration on their part, other than Blaise smirking gleefully at his successful plot to kill off his minion in the Ministry.  He knew that Sebastian had become a liability and he only knew one way to deal with that.  Death, plain and simple.  And the sheer fact that he managed to kill a good number of other people with Sebastian only made him happier.  For once he did not leave bruises on her after their nightly session.

 

When Pansy arrived back at the estate, bearing news of her success, Astoria felt relief at being able to escape her Master for a month.  She was looking forward to the relative freedom that she would have.  So once Pansy had reported, she picked up her bags (which had been packed for three weeks) and walked off the estate in silence.  She looked down at the destination that appeared on the parchment in wonder.  _Las_ _Mosquitia_ _,_ _Honduras_ _.  Well that sounds like it will be pleasant,_ she thought with a shudder as she quickly charmed the parchment to become a Port Key.

 

**~H~P~**

 

_28 February 2003_

 

When Astoria arrived at her destination, she was overwhelmed by the heat.  Even though it was mid-morning, she could feel sweat begin to trickle down her back at the heat and humidity.  Looking around at the lush greenery, she realised that she must be in a rain forest.  _How in Merlin’s name am I supposed to find_ people _in all of this wilderness?_ she wondered as she listened to the sounds of wildlife around her.  Sighing, she decided to first transfigure her clothes into something more suitable for her surroundings, so her slacks became khaki shorts, her blouse a simple linen short-sleeve button up and her trainers into hiking boots.  This was the first time that she was truly grateful for Professor McGonagall’s lessons in the subject.  Next, she pulled her hair up into a pony-tail with a hair bobble.

 

Once she was feeling much more comfortable, she decided to pick a direction to go.  After giving it a moment of thought, she quickly said, “Point me” and her wand showed her the way north.  Taking careful footsteps, she began to move in that direction wary of anything that could harm her.

 

She walked for what seemed like days, but in reality it was only a few hours, when she almost stumbled into a river.  It was wide with slow moving water the colour of milk chocolate.  She grimaced as she knelt next to it and dipped her hands in.  Splashing the liquid on her face, she felt a bit of relief at being able to scrub away the dried sweat, but wondered if it would be safe enough to drink.  She decided not to take any chances and after filling up her canteen, she quickly muttered, “ _Mundare Aquas.”_   She smile when she poured a little of the liquid out to find it crystal clear.  She quickly began to drink, quenching the thirst that had been plaguing her.  Once done, she filled the canteen again, before placing it on the pack on her back.  Better to be prepared than anything, she thought.  Not wanting to place her only source of water on the Aguamenti Charm.

 

Feeling refreshed, she began to walk eastward along the banks of the river, keeping herself hidden in the foliage.  She had only been walking for a few moments when she began to hear signs of children playing.  Her heart jumped in her throat as the consequences of her mission were running through her mind.  _Merlin, help me.  I don’t want to kill!  That is just wrong.  Please, please show me the way._

 

She kept to the foliage, but quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm until she found the children.  She smiled as she watched them, their brown skin gleaming in the sunlight, as they played in the river with women looking at them as they washed clothing in the river.  With a pang, she remembered Scorpius and wondered if he was having as much fun with Pansy’s nanny.

 

Drawing a breath, she followed the women back to their tiny village, hidden amongst the trees.  _This is breathtaking,_ she thought as she looked at the carvings on the support beams holding up woven leaves and branches.  She was intrigued by the carvings and longed to study them further, however she was distracted by the general contentment.  That gave her cause for thought, since when comparing their lives to hers caused her to wonder how they survived at all.  Not only survive, but they were thriving. 

 

Suddenly, there were shouts from the forest, causing all the women to look up.  A group of men, bearing spears, were dragging a man with them.  From the amount of blood he was losing, Astoria could see that the man would not likely survive without some divine intervention or modern medicine.  The adults seemed to realise this as well.  Quickly, the children were sent to huts while a man and woman worked diligently to try to stop the bleeding.  Once the blood was no longer gushing out of the wound, seemingly made by an animal, the entire adult population gathered around, looking at the pair. 

 

The woman with them raised her head as the conversation began and shook it sadly.  Astoria realised that the man would not live through the night.  Seeing an opening, killing a man who was already doomed to death, she saw her way out.  _I can do this.  I can kill those already condemned to death.  My conscious will be clear that way.  Thank you, Merlin.  This is an acceptable solution._

 

Feeling her hope rising, she waited until darkness fell and the adults finally drifted off to sleep.  Once they slept, she quickly moved in front of the man, whose breathing was laboured and cast a Silencing Charm.  Once the charm was in place, she dropped her Disillusion spell and bent in front of him.

 

“I am here to take your pain away,” she said softly.  “May your gods watch over your soul.”  Taking a breath, she concentrated on taking the man’s pain away, not on casting Avada Kedavra. 

 

The man’s confusion only lasted a moment, before the pale green light from her wand engulfed him.  Startled at the colour, since she had not cast the Killing Curse, she wondered Death, both metaphorical and the previous Horseman, was the reason that the Killing Curse was a bright green with cast.  Shaking her head out of her contemplative thoughts, Astoria quickly retreated to the jungle, to find a safe haven to camp until the time came to move on to her next location.

 

**H~P**

 

_7 March 2003_

 

After a week in the humid jungle of Honduras, Astoria was grateful when her parchment showed her next location.  Estancia Victoria, Paraguay.  _Really?  Two Spanish speaking countries.  I really should learn the language._   Still, knowing that Blaise would be tracking her, she quickly packed up her camp and muttered _“Portus”_ to activate the port key.  She felt the tug behind her navel and quickly she was spinning through space, to land in another forest.

 

This forest, however, was not oppressively humid as a rain forest would be, but instead there were tall trees that blocked the sunlight from the ground and there was no grass that grew; only leaves covered the ground.  It was also much cooler than Honduras had been, to which Astoria was eternally grateful.  She copied her actions from her first try and whispered, “Point me” to her wand.   She again started walking northward, keeping her sense alert for any sound that could betray her presence.  She walked the entire day, taking a few moments out to eat by lunch and dinner.  When night fell, she had yet to find any signs of people.

 

Settling into her bed in the tent, she stared up at the flickering light and let her thoughts drift back to Scorpius.  She wondered how he was doing; was he missing her?  She hoped so.  She wished she could go back in time and prevent her fourteen year old self from getting into a relationship with Blaise.  _I can wish all I like, but that will not change the past without a Time Turner.  Get with it,_ _Astoria_ _.  You have to figure out how to convince the person who wants to become the next Dark Lord that you are completely with his plan_ and _find a way to make sure that your son survives to adulthood._

 

Sighing, she rolled over onto her stomach, enjoying the luxury of living without Blaise’s constant attentions.  She had forgotten what it was like to be able to lie in bed without the expectation of sex.  Even when she was married to Draco, Blaise still had set expectations of her and rarely had a day passed without him contacting her.  _This is what my life should be,_ she thought as she drifted off into a fitful sleep.

 

It took two days of hiking before Astoria finally found a settlement.  She approached carefully, noticing that it was not much different from the other one.  The only difference (besides the lack of intricate carvings on the wood) was that there were huge dogs running around.  After searching for a good place to pitch her tent, she Disillusioned herself and began to walk through the forest bordering the village.

 

After walking for a few moments, she found a spot that she could hear the water from a small stream.  She checked the ground, to see if there were any tracks to indicate that it was on a path for the villagers and seeing none, quickly set up the tent and Muggle repelling charms.  Checking the time by the sun, she noticed that it was just starting to sink in the horizon and for that she was glad.  It would give her time to study the villagers to see if there was anyone close to death.  She knew that she didn’t want to kill anyone, so she hoped that there was someone close to death.

 

By the time night fell, she had found what she was looking for.  There was an old woman in the village and even she could tell that the woman was dying.  Her skin had a greyish tint to it, and from the sound of her laboured breathing, she had been ill for a long time.  The only problem was that she was never alone.  Constantly, she had someone with her.  There was a young woman, who shared the same eyes, so Astoria was sure she was either a daughter or more likely a granddaughter of the women.  She stayed by her side.

 

Astoria decided to keep following her and hoping that the woman would leave her for a few moments, but her hopes were dashed.

 

She kept watch over the following days and finally, the night that was to signal the end of her stay in the village, she decided to create a distraction.  Muttering a few charms under her breath, she made screams ring out through the forest.  The entire village gathered in around the common fire, obviously discussing what needed to be done.

 

Seeing her opening, Astoria quickly cast a translation charm and walked into the hut.  She dropped the Disillusion charm and knelt next to the pallet on the floor.  “Are you ill?” she asked quietly.

 

The woman coughed, her black eyes widening, but she nodded.  “Yes,” she managed to say.

 

Astoria felt relief flood her that the woman could speak English.  “Do you want your pain to end?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Astoria smiled.  “Then close your eyes and greet your afterlife.”

 

The woman did as she asked and Astoria reached out with her wand.  A soft pale green light slowly enveloped the woman and she breathed her last breath.  Astoria sighed in relief and allowed herself a small moment of reflection for the woman.  She quickly stood and recast the Disillusion charm as she heard footfalls coming closer to the house.  Not wanting to see the reaction of the family, she quickly exited the house before the young woman entered.

 

Rushing back to her tent, she quickly packed up and looked at the parchment as the mournful wails of the young woman filled the air.  _Good,_ she thought as she saw her next destination on the parchment.  Bürd, Mongolia.  _At least this country doesn’t speak Spanish!_

**H~P**

 

_14 March 2003_

 

When the Portkey dropped Astoria into Mongolia, all she could see was white.  Cursing under her breath for not thinking of changing before she touched the key, she began to shiver uncontrollably.   Quickly dropping her pack and pulling out her wand, she cast the spells that cause the tent to set up.  It was only a minute before the tent was ready, but it felt like hours to her.  When she walked—or rather ran—into the tent, she was caked in snow and her face felt as if ice was hitting it.  She quickly increased the strength of the heating spell on the tent and wrapped her arms around herself as she began to steep hot tea.

 

It was almost an hour later before Astoria finally felt as if she was warm.  She had changed (and transfigured) her clothes into something that was appropriate for a blizzard and sat in a chair to figure out how she was meant to find a settlement in the white out conditions that she had appeared in.  “What am I meant to do?” she muttered aloud.  “Think, Astoria, think!”

 

She bit her lip as she thought, before finally an idea came to her.  _A map.  I need a map of this place.  Not only that, but it needs to show me the location of the Muggles that obviously inhabit this place.  Now,_ why _they choose to live here is a mystery, but they must or the parchment would not have brought me here._   Quickly, she withdrew a sheet of parchment from her bag and waved her wand over it in a complicated pattern that she had remembered from her parents lessons in camping.

 

Slowly ink spread across the parchment and dots began to appear.  As she watched, smirking at her cleverness, Astoria began to realise that the black dots represented the Muggles living in the harsh environment.  _Huh, I suppose that I am the green dot.  Interesting.  I wonder how close to these dots that people are.  I_ could _test the theory._   With that in mind, she walked around the tent to see if the green dot moved.  It didn’t.  Sighing, she knew that she would need to find the range of the map before she was able to pinpoint any Muggles.  Unfortunately, the weather conditions were not conducive for wandering around.  _I hope this blizzard stops soon._

 

Four days later, her hope became reality as the blizzard finally stopped.  By that time, even Astoria’s warming charms were feeling the pressure of the weather.  She awoke to the unexpected sound of nothing.  No wind, no snow hitting the tent.  Just dead silence.  Jumping out of the bed, she quickly ran to the door and looked out, almost blinding herself from the glare from the snow.

 

The light was so bright that she staggered back a few steps with her eyes watering from the sudden brightness.  “Well, at least the snow stopped,” she muttered as she wiped her eyes.

 

Closing the tent flap quickly, her heart dropped at the thought of walking through the blinding brightness.  Deciding to move at night, even though the temperature would drop dangerously cold, she studied the map to find the closest group of Muggles close to her.  During her days confined to the tent by the snow, she had worked on the map’s charms so that she now could see movement of her green dot when she moved.  After some calculations, she thought she had an estimate of scale of it.   

 

She knew that she wanted to find a settlement and hope that someone was close to death.  _Merlin knows that it’s so cold that someone must succumb to the weather.  Is it too much to ask that I be able to find that person?  Please, to whatever higher power is up there; help me do this without causing a senseless loss of life._   It was the first time she had ever prayed, but she was desperate to come out of this with her soul intact, but she did believe from the bottom of her heart that there was some greater power.  She knew that if there wasn’t, there was no way her son would still be alive.

 

The rest of the day was spent in charming her clothes to keep her warm.  Taking extra precautions, she charmed them with multiple layers of charms, just in case one failed, all the while glancing at the map.  Just as the sun was sinking below the horizon, she saw a group of dots appear.  Squinting her eyes in concentration, she hazarded a guess that this particular group—ten in all—was no more than five kilometres away from her.

 

Gathering her courage, she quickly dressed and headed out into the frigid wasteland.  Prepared for the glare this time, she kept the map in front over her and above the light bouncing off the snow.  Thankfully, the howling winds had blown away most of the pellet-like granules, so she didn’t have to force her way through metres of snow.  Sighing, she began to walk, glancing down at the dots, figuring that she would have to walk for at least a few hours before reaching the first group of dots.

 

Four hours later, she was finally in sight of the camp.  Her hands and feet ached with cold and she knew that she had not taken the bitter temperatures into account.  She had to stop at least once every hour to warm up or she would have suffered frostbite.  She was grateful that she could finally see the smoke from the fires.  Quickly, she disillusioned herself and carefully made her way towards the camp.

 

 _Oh, what I couldn’t give for those listening devices that George Weasley sells_ , she thought ruefully.  Shaking her head, she just continued walking until she was outside of what looked like a sturdily made hut with a thatched roof.  She watched the hut, seeing if anyone went inside before quickly peering through a window.  _Damn, supplies._   Keeping behind the buildings, she continued checking the buildings until she found one that had a group of arguing people in them.  She tried to cast a translation charm, but she had little hope of it working.  Even after practicing for hours on end, she had never mastered the auditory part of the charm, only to vocal part. 

 

Luck was not with her, for the language was still foreign to her after she cast the charm.  She frowned, but concentrated on the body language of the men and women arguing.  She could tell that they were extremely upset, but there wasn’t a single person amongst them that the anger was directed towards.  She pursed her lips after drawing a blank to why they were fighting.

 

Finally, the group moved out of the building as the volume of their argument grew into shouts.  Hands are arms were flailing wildly to emphasise each of their points, until a lone figure walked into view.  Like a nest of vipers, they turned as one to the thin man in front of them.   Astoria watched in dawning horror as the man shrank way from the people slinking towards him, his head turning madly as he looked for an escape.  None was found.

 

She was astonished when the man began to stutter in English and she discovered that he was an American.  “I’m not responsible!  I didn’t cause the storm!”

 

It was then that she realised they were blaming him for the blizzard that had fallen upon the land.  An older man sprinted out of another building, yelling at the group, but his cries fell on deaf ears as they began to assault the man.  Their intent was clear; they sought his death.

 

Astoria felt a rage build up inside of her and without meaning to, she dropped her disillusion charm and pale green light radiated from her, engulfing each person in the group with the deadly intent.  In seconds, they all lay dead on the group.

 

The two remaining men looked at her in shock.  “Who are you?” the American managed to say as he coughed blood onto the white snow.

 

Astoria was taken aback by the question and did not know how to answer, but the older man spoke slowly in English.  “She is Lady Death.”  Astoria slowly nodded.  _That’s as good as an explanation as any._

 

The older man bowed, before kneeling beside the injured man.  “Lady Death?” the man asked, scepticism evident in his voice.

 

“These are dark times, Doctor.  Those men and women were infected by the darkness rising in the world.  Lady Death has come to judge and send their souls to be purified by their ancestors.”

 

The American still looked doubtful, but he knew that he had been saved from his own death.  “Thank you, ma’am.”

 

Astoria just nodded as she turned to walk out of the encampment, confusion tumbling inside of her.  Once out of sight of the men, she quickly Apparated back to her tent, her hands shaking as the next destination appeared on the parchment.  Upsir, Iceland.

 

**H~P**

_21 March 2003_

 

Astoria was still shaking as the landed after touching the Portkey.  She wasn’t sure what had happened in Mongolia, but she knew that it was important.  As she stared at the picturesque town in front of her, she was struck by two things.  One, it was much larger than anyplace she had visited prior.  Two, it was not Muggle.  She could clearly see people using magic around her.  That she was grateful for, since she had landed in the middle of the street.

 

Quickly, she made her way to the side of the street to take in her surroundings.  It was not as cold as Mongolia, but it was still bitter to someone used to English winters.  Deciding to walk around, she began to follow the street as she looked at the people chatting around her, their Slavic accents delightful to her ears.

 

For the rest of the afternoon, she just observed, carefully keeping her mind blank in case someone tried to read her thoughts.  As the sun began its descent into snow, she found a small inn and rented a room, only thoughts of a warm bath and bed in her head.   The inn’s owner smiled, his blue eyes twinkling when she commented on his command of the English language. 

 

“I studied at Hogwarts,” he admitted.  “Best seven years of my life.”

 

Astoria couldn’t help but grin as his smile was infectious.  “What House were you in?” she asked.

 

“Hufflepuff,” he responded with shrug.  “But that was a lifetime ago.  Long before you were born.  What about you?”

 

Astoria accepted the gold key from him, wondering if she should be truthful.  “Unfortunately Slytherin.”

 

“Why unfortunately?  When I was at Hogwarts, Slytherin was a very respectable House.  Some of the most cunning minds came from there and they were always the best at playing tricks on the other Houses.”

 

“There was the small matter than most of the Slytherin house followed the Dark Lord, sir,” she responded gravely.

 

“A minor blip on the respectability of the House, young lady.  Slytherin will not always be known for creating evil monsters,” he assured her.  “Do not let me keep you from your room.  You look like you could use a good night’s rest.”

 

“Thank you,” Astoria returned as she turned to the stairs to take the man’s advice.

 

The following morning, she rose with the sun, feeling much refreshed after getting a proper bath and sleep on a comfortable feather mattress.  She decided to repeat her pattern from the day before and walk around the town after eating a delicious breakfast.  She felt more human that she had in the previous three weeks.

 

This time, instead of following the road northward, she went the opposite direction.  The building slowly began to change from business oriented to residential and she began to see more children out in the streets.  Her heart constricted at the sight of all the tow-headed children playing.  She ached to hold Scorpius back in her arms.

 

Her thoughts were so filled with him that when she looked up into the distance she believed the child she saw playing with a toy broom to be him.  Scolding herself mentally, she closed her eyes briefly before walking towards the child to see what he really looked like.  She was only a few steps away when he looked at her, delight coming to the grey eyes.

 

“Mummy!” the child screamed as the toy broom went flying.

 

Astoria sank to her knees; her arms wide open as tears sprang to her eyes.  “Scorpius,” she whispered into his blond hair as he threw himself into her arms.  “My sweet baby boy.  Oh, I’ve missed you!”

 

Neither she nor the child noticed the witch smiling from the doorway.  Astoria looked up when she heard a throaty chuckle.  She drew back slightly from Scorpius, her brow furrowing in confusion.  “So you are the child’s mother,” the woman asked, her voice showing no hint at her true age.

 

Comprehension dawned after a moment of blankness and Astoria rose, offering her hand in greeting.  “You are Pansy’s nanny.”

 

“ _Ja._   Come inside, it is not safe for you to be in the open,” the woman said as she opened the door.

 

Astoria followed her quickly, Scorpius tagging at her heels.  She quickly settled onto a comfortable settee.  She glanced at Scorpius, happiness radiating from her from her reunion.

 

“We have much to speak of, young woman,” the woman began.  “What has to be spoken is not fit for young ears.”  She looked at Scorpius.  “ _Lítill einn,_ please play in the corner with your toys.”  Scorpius stuck out his lower lip in defiance, but she just raised an eyebrow.  “Now, _lítill einn._ ”

 

The boy just stomped to his toys, but sat down facing the women.  The woman just smiled before casting a silencing charm.  “Now, I am Valdis Amundsen.  Pansy never told me any information about you.”

 

“Astoria Greengrass,” she returned.

 

“Ms. Greengrass, you are in a terrible predicament, are you not?”

 

Astoria frowned, wondering what exactly Pansy had told the woman.  “Yes.”

 

“And it has little to do with the abusive relationship that you have found yourself in.”

 

Shock coursed through her, but Astoria nodded numbly.

 

“ _Ja,_ I thought so, once I set eyes on you,” Valdis said with a sigh.  “Are you aware of what has awoken in the last four months?”  She continued when the shocked woman failed to respond.  “Evil.  You are part of it, are you not?”

 

Astoria finally found her voice back.  “Yes,” she responded softly.  “Against my will, but yes, I am partially responsible.”

 

“Ah, _minn_ _fátækur elskan._   Your life has turned upside down and I can feel your confusion from where I sit.  I do believe I can help you to understand your choice in this, if you could listen to a senile old woman.”

 

Astoria felt the truth of her words in her heart and nodded gratefully.  “Please.  I am so confused.”

 

“That is understandable as you have been touch by an ancient, but powerful magic.  Magic that has been lost to this world for good reason.  You, in essence, have become Death personified.”

 

Astoria nodded.

 

“These magics were lost at the end of Merlin’s life.  There are very few families left that have knowledge of this, but my family was picked by Merlin himself to be the keeper of this knowledge.  I am the last of my line, for I have no children of my own and I have known since I learned that I was barren that the prophecy would come to fruition in my lifetime,” Valdis continued.  “The binding on the Beasts have unraveled.  You, my child, are one of four, but you chose a different path.”

 

“I did.  I was supposed to kill Scorpius, but my love for him would not allow me to.  I substituted my own blood in lieu of his.”

 

“And by doing that, you saved your soul in a way that no one could have predicted.  For sacrifice made willingly to protect one from Death has allowed you greater power than your Master could have dreamed.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“He seeks to wreak destruction and death upon the world; you however sought to protect life, at the expense of your own.  By doing that, you can choose to protect life, instead of just inflicting death.”  She paused, to give Astoria time to think.

 

“I did,” Astoria said as she thought back to Mongolia.  “I protected a man from death at the hands of a mob.”

 

“That mob was more than likely affected by the changes in the magical energy that supports all life.  Reports are showing up all over the world about people sinking into evilness.  Muggles for the most part, for now the evil is only affecting those with no immunity to it, but soon even the magical world will feel its effects.”

 

“What am I to do?” Astoria questioned.

 

“I can not tell you that.  I am only a protector of Death.  That question must be answered by you.  I can tell you this, Death is a constant.  All living things must die and that is why you were the one chosen for this.  Death is the only one of the powers that is neither good nor evil.  You can choose who will die.  Even those who think they are immortal are not immune to your power.”

 

Astoria settled back in the comfortable cushions, her mind reeling from the revelation.  She was quick enough to understand that Valdis had just told her she would be capable of killing Blaise, if she could break free of the slave bond enough to do so.  “I have a lot to think about, but I also must use my power here, to keep my Master from being suspicious.”

 

Valdis was silent for moment.  “There is a hospital, Muggle hospital, on the border between the Muggle Upsir and the magical Upsir.  You should be able to find someone to help move on there,” she advised.

 

Astoria nodded, her gaze returning to Scorpius.  “May I stay here with him?  I am not due back for five days and I want to spend as much time with him as possible.”

 

“Of course and I will continue to watch him in your absence.”

 

Astoria felt her throat close up with emotion before she managed to choke out her thanks.

 

Canceling the silencing charm, Valdis just watched as mother and son reconnected, her heart lighter at meeting the woman whom her family had searched a millennium for.  She knew that the coming months would be difficult, but the darkness in the world would not be all encompassing.  Her hope had been restored.

 

**H~P**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you soooooo much to every single person who has kept up with this story! To those who reviewed, they did help. This chapter was created bit by bit as I got inspiration from those reviews! Thanks for reading and please review!
> 
> Here are the translations:
> 
> Mundare Aquas means “to clean water” according to my online Latin translator. 
> 
> Lítill einn means “little one” in Icelandic.
> 
> minn fátækur elskan means “my poor darling” in Icelandic.


	22. Disturbing Dreams, Part Four: Air

_28 February 2003_

 

Draco Malfoy was bored.  There was no other way to describe the feeling as his mother prattled on and on about how she wanted to redecorate the Manor.  He finally tuned her out and thought back to the last months.  He never could have believed that his life would be turned upside down by the betrayal of his best friends.  He felt the anger well up in him again, but he let it go.  He knew that he could do nothing as of right now to help the situation.

 

“Draco?  Are you even listening to me?” Narcissa interrupted.

 

Draco quickly turned to her and said, “Of course, Mother.  You want to have the Manor redecorated to include colours other than green and silver.  I believe you said that you wanted to include all of the colours from Hogwarts.”

 

Narcissa raised an eyebrow.  “That was twenty minutes ago.  I asked you when you were going to bring Hermione around again.  Why don’t you invite her for dinner this evening?”

 

“I’ll see,” Draco hedged.  For some reason he did not want to share his time with the brunette.

 

Narcissa smirked as she rose from the chair.  “If you will excuse me, I think I will check with the Elves about lunch.”

 

Draco just nodded distractedly as his thoughts turned to Hermione.  She intrigued him like no one else had.  He snorted.  _Of course she intrigues you, Draco.  She bested you at school and always seems so good, so pure.  You always want what you can’t have, except now you have her.  How long until she sees you for who you truly are?  You’re a coward plain and simple and don’t deserve her._

 

He smashed the thought down brutally.  He knew that he had changed after the birth of Scorpius and it was only with her help, her goodness that he was not in Azkaban for the brutal murder of his best friend.  He knew that without her holding him back, keeping him sane that he would have found Blaise Zabini by now and probably murdered him with his own hands.

 

 _Is that the only reason she has accepted my advances?_   Draco paused in thought for a moment and then decided that Hermione, being the penultimate Gryffindor that she was, would not be able to keep up a deception like that.  _Why is she with me?_   He quickly decided that he didn’t care.  He would take each day one at a time.

 

He paid no attention as Narcissa returned from the kitchen and picked up the novel she had been reading. Instead, Draco made the decision to go into the study and look over some files that Lucius had brought home.  Like it or not, eventually he was going to have to return to work and he wanted to be prepared for any changes.

 

**H~P**

 

_Draco awoke in the middle of a forest unlike any he had ever seen.  The trees were giants compared to what he was used to and he looked around in astonishment.  Quickly grabbing for his wand, he placed himself behind a tree, before realising that he was in the middle of a very vivid dream._

_Curious as to why he would be dreaming of an unknown forest, he concentrated on the surroundings and was surprised to hear the sound of children’s laughter ringing out.  Instinctively, he followed the sound until he came to a small village consisting of twenty or so wooden huts with roofs made of woven branches with the leaves still attached._ What meaning does this have for me? _he thought knowing that a dream this life-like was no normal dream._

_Pondering that question, he walked around the village, trying not to stare at the scantily clad women.  Instead, he focused on the children playing.  They were kicking around a small inflated toy; it looked as if it had once been inside of an animal, but he did not recognise what it was._ Is that important? _For some reason, he did not think so.  Something inside of him told him that he was just meant to study their lives._

_So he observed.  The people in the village consisted of mostly women, children and old men, although he could see a few young men about.  He did not see them using any sort of magic and the scant amount of information he had learned from Hermione about the Muggle society did not seem to apply to this group.  The women mostly were tending pots over large fires, although some were weaving some sort of mats out of flexibly branches of leaves._

_That was intriguing to him and he moved closer to one of the older women, fascinated by the process.  The woman had a smile on her face which highlighted the laugh lines that were prominent and he thought it was a nice change from what he had grown up with.  The Malfoys were not known for their smiling faces, unless it was a smirk of triumph._

_He continued to watch the mundane lives of these people, until the sun began to sink below the tree line.  Once it began its descent, he started as men began to emerge from the trees, carrying game._ Oh, that makes sense.  The men were out hunting, _he realised with a start._

_As he watched the women begin to prepare the meat, he wrinkled his nose in disgust._ Ugh, I’m glad that the Elves take care that! _He watched them for a few more seconds before his stomach could not take it and turned away.  As he turned the unmistakable sound of hoof beats on the damp leaves permeated the twilight._

_The people began to gather around the main fire, looks of concern darkening their faces.  Draco drew off to the side, wondering what was going on.  The forest didn’t look like the place where horses were normally spotted.  His confusion grew as a horse and rider rode into the village, but the horse was like none he had ever seen.  It was a pale green colour and emaciated like it was sick, but it didn’t act sick as it pawed the ground while snorting._

_The man on its back had the same colouring as the villagers, but Draco could clearly see the evil shining in his eyes.  The look was reminiscent of one he’d seen in Bellatrix before she tortured a poor person to death.  A shiver travelled up his spine as he unconsciously took a step backwards._

_A grey-haired villager stepped forward and spoke forcefully to the man on the horse.  Even though he didn’t understand the words, Draco knew that the old man was challenging the rider._

_The rider laughed as he raised his hands, the evilness of it reminding him of the Dark Lord.  Green light, as pale as the horse, flowed out of the man’s hands and Draco watched as it rolled over the villagers like a wave.  As the light touched the villagers, they immediately dropped to the ground, their eyes glassy._

_Draco couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping and quickly dropped to the ground as the light moved towards him.  As the light passed through him, he breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t die.  He watched in horror as the rest of the villagers fell over and with a cackling laugh the man on the horse rode off into the trees._

“What in the name of Merlin’s hairy balls was that?” Draco shouted.

 

 

**~H~P~**

 

_7 March 2003_

 

As the week passed, Draco put his dream out of his mind, chalking it up to the stress he’d been under.  Friday found him strolling confidently through the cafeteria at St. Mungo’s.   After going to the emergency department, he was told that Hermione was taking a break.  He knew that she never left the hospital, unless it was time to go home, so he felt the cafeteria was his best choice.

 

Sure enough, he spotted her chocolate curls at a table with a red head and the familiar messy black hair of his once former enemy.  He contained his smirk as he glided up behind her, much to the amusement of Ginny.

 

“Have you talked to Ron?” Hermione asked.

 

Ginny shook her head.  “No, but if the pattern holds then he will be next.”

 

Draco quickly put his hands in front of Hermione and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Hello, beautiful.”

 

Hermione quickly grasped his hands, but not before he noticed a shudder go through her.  She had a smile on her face as she turned to look over her shoulder.  “Hello, Draco.  Do you want to join us?”

 

He shrugged and quickly sat on her right in the empty chair.  “So what are you discussing?”

 

The three of them exchanged a look before Hermione turned her attention to him.  “Nothing much.  What brings you down here today?” she said trying to redirect the conversation.

 

“Do I need an excuse to see you?” he shot back, feeling hurt that she brushed him off.

 

Hermione looked contrite.  “Of course not, but I just saw you less than twelve hours ago.  You surprised me.”

 

Harry and Ginny watched the exchange with interest and Ginny made a rash decision.  “Draco?  Would you and Hermione like to come to dinner at Grimmauld Place next week?” she asked, trying to defuse the sudden tension that she didn’t understand.

 

Draco looked shocked at the invitation, but with the tentative truce he and the Boy Wonder had made, he decided that it would be nice.  “I would enjoy that,” he agreed.  _Hopefully._

 

Ginny smiled radiantly.  “Wonderful.  I think Harry and I will be going now.”

 

As they both rose to leave, Harry cleared his throat.  “I’ll talk to Ron about what we discussed,” he said quietly before Ginny took his arm and they left.

 

Draco turned back to Hermione, his eyes steely.  “Was that about Scorpius?” he asked in a deadly tone.

 

Hermione quickly shook her head.  “No, it had nothing to do with him,” she said assured him.  “They have not made any headway into locating Blaise and Pansy.  I promised to keep you informed and I will.”

 

Draco looked into her chocolate eyes and sighed.  “I know.  I just…with every day that passes, it seems more and more likely that I will lose him forever.”

 

He felt her small hand cover his own.  “I know.  I can’t claim to even begin to comprehend what you are going through, but I am a sure that it can not be easy.  You just have to have faith in Harry and Ron.  They are the best Aurors that the Ministry has and if anyone can find him, they will.”

 

“Even if the are dealing with a diabolical Slytherin?” Draco said sarcastically.

 

Hermione laughed.  “Especially with diabolical Slytherins.  Come on.  It’s slow today, so let me see if I can beg off being here and just go on call.”

 

Draco just followed her with a smirk on his face.  He followed her, allowing his eyes to gaze over her body.  Once reaching the emergency department, he lingered in the doorway, watching as Hermione talked animatedly with one of the other Healers.  She was laughing with the man, before he reached over and gave her a hug.

 

Draco felt his jaw tighten as jealousy blossomed in his gut, but fought down the feeling when she turned and winked at him.  Instead, he chose to raise an eyebrow sardonically as she walked towards him.

 

“I’m on call,” she said as she strolled up to him. 

 

Draco thought quickly.  “Good.  I have an idea.”

 

He led Hermione from the hospital and to a discrete Apparation point.  Studying their clothes carefully, he waved his wand and soon they were dressed in Muggle clothes.  He ignored the question in her eyes and instead, he just took her hand again.  In moments, they were standing in a quiet alley off of a bustling London street.

 

“What?” Hermione asked, confusion clearly darkening her eyes.

 

Draco smiled.  “I want to see London through the eyes of a Muggle,” he said simply before holding out his arm for her to grasp.

 

Hermione’s face lit up in a smile and she began to talk animatedly as they joined the crowds in the street.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise.  “You mean to tell me that Muggles have a way to communicate with one another faster than an owl and more convenient than a Floo call?”

 

Hermione smiled as she discreetly pointed out a man on a mobile phone.  “That’s called a mobile.  It’s a telephone.”  At his blank look she continued.  “A telephone is a mechanical device that transmits voices through a wire, or in this case through electronic signals.  The mobile phone receives the signal and basically decodes it into the voice.”

 

“Amazing,” Draco said. 

 

Hermione nodded.  “My parents got me one for my birthday this year.  They are very convenient.”

 

“I just find it astounding that Muggles do all of this without magic.”

 

“I know,” she responded with a smug smile.  “That’s what I keep trying to tell all my friends from Hogwarts.  It was very surprising to go from this,” she said as she waved her hands around, “to Hogwarts where everything is lit by candles!  I hated studying in my room because candlelight is not near as steady as an electrical light.”

 

“I can see advantages to that.  I can’t believe that I never knew about any of this.”  He glanced at her as she tried to hide a yawn.  Glancing at his pocket watch, he saw that it was well after midnight.  “Come on.  Let’s get you home.”

 

Hermione smiled.  “It’s not that I’m not having fun, but my day started well before dawn this morning.”  She looked into his grey eyes.  “Are you staying?”

 

“As much as I want to, my father wants me to go to a board meeting tomorrow.  I don’t want to wake you that early.”

 

Hermione nodded as they ducked into a deserted alleyway.  “All right.  I guess this is good night, then.”

 

Draco smirked as he drew her close.  He quickly captured her lips in a passionate kiss that left them both gasping for air.  “I’ll owl you tomorrow.”  He released her and watched as she disappeared with a quiet pop, before doing the same.

 

**H~P**

 

 _Draco awoke to the sight of another unfamiliar forest and guessed right away that he was in another dream._ What is going on?  Why am I dreaming about stuff that I do not know?

_Sighing, he decided to try and awaken himself, but the dream stubbornly did not go away.  Shaking his head, he began to walk though the forest, following a small stream.  He had walked for a few hours (surprised to find he was not exhausted from the effort) before he arrived at another small village.  This one seemed to be larger than the previous one in his dream, but the people were similar.  They still had the same dusky skin and dark hair, but seemed to be slightly taller than the last group._

_Taking cues from his last dream, he studied the village life, but it seemed as if there were not many differences.  The only deviation was when the men returned, half of them were carrying fish, instead of forest animals._

_As the women accepted the fish and animals, they began to laugh and talk.  A few of the young men were obviously over exaggerating their hunting skills, showing off for a pretty girl, which earned them cuffs on the ear from the older women.  The young girls giggled, the sound almost covering up the sound of someone approaching._

_Draco warily turned and watched as the same horse and rider rode into the clearing.  He felt bile rise in his throat, knowing what was coming.  He barely heard the men yelling at the rider, focusing his concentration on the man to see how he produced the green light.  He saw no wand, nor a staff that would focus the magical energy._

_Even with all his attention focused on the man, he was still unable to discern how he made the green light come from his hands.  The result was the same.  Every person that the light touched died instantly._

Awaking with a start, Draco stared at his dark ceiling.  “What is going on?” he muttered as he rose from the bed, knowing that returning to sleep was not an option.

 

**~H~P~**

 

_14 March 2003_

 

Draco paced back and forth in his room, trying to tell himself that he was not nervous about having dinner with Hermione at Harry’s house.  _Must remember not to call him Pottyhead.  Merlin, how am I going to get through this night?_   He knew that ever since Harry had seen him collapse in grief that something had changed between them.  He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. 

 

Checking his watch again, he realised that it was time for him to pick up Hermione, so he gathered his new leather coat and made his way downstairs.  He found Narcissa and Lucius in the library, discussing politics.  He wrinkled his nose as he walked in.  “Mother, Father, I’m going out,” he told them.

 

“Have a good time, Draco,” Narcissa said with a smile. 

 

“Good night, son,” Lucius said with a smirk.

 

Draco nodded to them both before putting on the jacket and striding out of the mansion to Apparate to Hermione’s flat.  As he came to rest outside her door, he took another deep breath before knocking lightly.  When the door opened, he felt his mouth drop in awe.

 

He recognised the jeans from their abortive Valentine’s date, but the shirt was what drew his attention.  It was emerald silk with only one shoulder.  As Hermione stepped back into the apartment, he saw that the one sleeve that it did have was split from shoulder to wrist, granting his tantalising glances of her pale skin underneath.  The wide band at the waist emphasised her hourglass figure.

 

When his gaze finally returned to her face, she saw a familiar smirk there. 

 

“I take it you like my new blouse?” she said teasingly.

 

“It is very becoming,” he managed to return calmly.

 

Hermione laughed as she tossed her hair over her shoulder.  “Give me one moment to put on my boots and then we can leave.”

 

Draco watched as she zipped the knee-high boots up.  The act was unaccountable sexy.  Unfortunately for him, she was done too soon.  He turned as she stood and grabbed a grey cashmere wrap and pulled it around her, stealing a small kiss.  “Do we have to go to Potter’s?” he asked, his voice husky.

 

Hermione giggled.  “Yes.  Maybe if you’re a good boy, you’ll get a surprise at the end of the evening.”

 

Draco groaned, her equally husky tone shooting straight to his groin.  He fought the desire and its effect down.  Once he was back under control, he offered his arm to her so she could Apparate them to Potter’s house.  He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes at the gut wrenching effect that side-along Apparation always had on him and when he opened them, they were standing in a bright hallway.

 

He looked at the bright white paint with magical photographs lining the walls.  It was definitely not what he expected from the former house of dark wizards.

 

Hermione seemed to know what he was thinking as she said, “Harry and Ginny have basically gutted the house and redecorated it to be less dark,” she said as she slipped the wrap off and opened the door to a coat cupboard.  “The only exception is where the black curtains are.  Don’t open them for any reason.  Mrs. Black’s portrait is stuck by an uncommonly strong sticking charm and even Dumbledore could not get her off the wall.”

 

“Really?” he drawled.

 

“Yes.  Ginny finally charmed the curtains shut over her portrait and put a permanent silencing charm over them.  She got tired of the portrait shouting obscenities about Mudbloods and Blood-Traitors all day.”

 

Draco thought for a moment.  “Perhaps I can take a look at some point.  I may be able to convince her to move.”

 

Hermione turned to him, her brow furrowed.  “What do you mean move?”

 

Draco smiled.  “We have a portrait gallery in the Manor where all of the more vocal portraits live.  I believe that she might feel at home there.”

 

“If you can do that, I’ll be in your debt forever,” Ginny’s voice rang out.

 

Draco turned to her.  “I shall do my best.”

 

“Please, follow me into the study.  We are having a pre-dinner drink.”

 

They followed the red-head to a richly appointed study, decorated in warm earth tones.  Harry was standing by a side-board holding a set of Waterford decanters.  “What can I get you to drink?” the black-haired man asked.

 

“Firewhiskey?”

 

Harry shook his head.  “Sorry.  I never developed a taste for the stuff.  I have cognac, brandy and regular whiskey.”

 

“Cognac, then.”

 

“Coming up.  Hermione, do you want your usual?”

 

“Yes, please.”

 

Draco settled onto a comfortable dark brown leather loveseat and took in the room.  It bore no resemblance to the dark place that his mother had described to him.  Finally, he nodded to himself.  “Your decorator did a wonderful job.”

 

Ginny grinned.  “Thank you very much.  I designed most of it myself.”  She accepted her glass of brandy from Harry as he delivered the drinks and soon they found themselves discussing trivial events as Hermione and Ginny eased Draco and Harry into a direction of friendship.

 

**H~P**

 

Several hours later, Draco was arguing with Harry over Quidditch good-naturedly after the feast that Kreacher had prepared.  Hermione and Ginny had moved themselves to a corner of study to covertly watch the men.

 

“How can you support the Cannons over Bulgaria?” Draco was asking.  “Bulgaria has a better team.”

 

Harry smiled.  “Maybe, but I like cheering for the underdogs.  Plus, Bulgaria is not that good this year.  Victor Krum is no longer their seeker.”

 

“Since when?!” Draco exclaimed.

 

Harry smiled.  “Two days ago.  It seems as if his coach got tired of his partying and the impact it was having on his performance.  He has been delegated to the sidelines.”

 

Draco nodded.  “So that is why you think that the Cannons will win the match.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

Draco sighed as he glanced over to Hermione.  “I see your point and will concede that they have a chance.  I don’t know if they will win, but it should be an exciting match.”  He glanced down at his watch, surprised to see that it was almost midnight.  “As intriguing as the conversation has been, I believe that it is time to go.”

 

Harry stood as he did and then unexpectedly stuck out his hand.  “Draco, it was a pleasure having you here.  If you want to come over sometime, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”

 

Draco grasped his hand lightly.  “Thank you,” he said as he felt Hermione grasp his arm.

 

“Ready to go?” she asked with a tired smile.

 

Draco nodded as they both bade their good-byes and one short Apparation later they were standing back in her living room.  Draco looked down into her eyes before kissing her softly.

 

Hermione responded to the kiss, and remembering her teasing earlier, she wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening it. 

 

Draco groaned as she pressed herself into him and he pulled away, wanting to know if she finally wanted to take their relationship to the next level.  “Are you sure?” he whispered as he tucked a lock of curly brown hair behind her ear.

 

Hermione returned his gaze and she nodded her head.  “Very sure,” she responded as she grasped his hand and led him to her bedroom.

 

Draco didn’t pay attention to his surroundings other than noting the soft candlelight that sprung up as soon as they walked in and the massive bed that stood in the centre of the room.  As she came to a rest by the bed, he could see the trepidation on her face, so he drew her to him. 

 

He claimed her lips in a kiss that started off slow, but quickly grew in its intensity as he ran his hands down her sides.  He grasped the bottom of the silk shirt and quickly drew is over her head, breaking the kiss as he did so.  As he looked down at her, he felt his arousal grow even more as he grazed that the green strapless bra that covered her pale flesh.

 

Growling he quickly lowered her to the bed, pressing kisses along her neck as her breathy moans began to fill the quiet room.  His right arm snaked below her, making quick work of the clasp as he removed the green fabric covering her from his view.  Tossing it over his shoulder, he moved his lips down the newly bared flesh, watching as her nipples tightened into hard points. 

 

Smirking against her, he quickly moved his lips and tongue over her breasts, but avoided the taunt nipples, making her whimper in need.

 

“Please…” she begged.

 

“Please what?” he asked as his tongued mapped the underside of her breasts.

 

Hermione growled her frustration.  “Your mouth, my nipple now,” she threatened as she forcibly grabbed his hair and moved it to where she wanted, arching her back when he complied. 

 

Draco rolled the hard pebble between his lips, arching his own hips into hers to try to relieve the building pressure.  He was rewarded by the feel of her hands grasping his own jumper and tugging it over his head.

 

His fingers moved down her legs, caressing the soft leather of her boots before grasping the metal tab.  “I’ve never seen anything sexier than you pulling on these boots,” he murmured as the zipped moved slowly down her leg.  “I wanted to take them off of you as soon as you put them on.”

 

Hermione giggled as she sat up and reached for the snap to his jeans, only to have he hands batted away as Draco continued to undress her.  He made short work of her other boot before quickly unhooking her own jeans to draw them down her legs, his mouth going dry at the sight of the damp green satin that covered her most intimate parts.

 

Hermione got tired of his inactivity and in a fluid move she tugged him down on the bed and stripped his jeans and boxers off of him.  Her breath was coming in pants as she settled herself above him, grasping him in her small hand as she aligned herself before sinking down.

 

They both moaned as he filled her, but she didn’t pause as she began to ride him.  Draco looked at the pleasure suffusing her face.  He allowed her to set the pace, rocking her hips against his as she drove them up to the peak.  Soon it wasn’t enough and he flipped them over to move deeply into her.

 

Her walls began to flutter against him and as she climaxed with a silent scream he felt himself fall over the ledge as well before collapsing against her in exhaustion.  He had just enough energy to draw the heavy quilt over their sweat covered skin before they both succumbed to sleep.

 

**H~P**

 

_Draco awoke to a sea of white.  He blinked as the sun struck the snow and finally shaded his eyes so he could see.  In the distance a plume of smoke marred the otherwise pristine sky, so with a sigh he began the walk in that direction._

Why am I having these dreams? _he wondered as he walked.  He knew that this was not a normal series of dreams and he suspected that they were being sent to him for some reason.  What the reason was, he had no idea.  After the previous two dreams, he had an idea of what he would see when he finally arrived and his surmise was correct._

_He found a group of people, warmly wrapped in animal skins and fur.  As with the previous dreams he could see women tending a pot of something over a fire whilst children played in the snow.  There were a few more men around, but with the weapons they were bearing it was obvious that this was more of a guard than anything else._

_His hunch was confirmed when a wolf howling in the distance made the men look around, grasping their weapons firmly to see if the wolf made its way into their camp.  When nothing appeared, they relaxed slightly._

_Draco watched him, noting that the sun was already low in the sky._ At least I won’t have to wait long before the other people get home. _He studied the people closely, noting that they were shorter and stockier than the previous groups.  They were also fairer skinned with light eyes._

_As twilight began to descend and the men began to stream back into the camp, the familiar thud of hoof beats resonated in the air.  Draco watched as the men dropped what they were carrying and grabbed an assortment of weapons, from swords to bows.  The men holding the bows let loose a steam of arrows as the horse and rider came into sight._

_Draco watched with hope as the arrows closed in on the man, only to have them disappear before reaching him.  It seemed to anger the rider and before the green horse had made it to camp a flood of the pale green light swamped the village, killing every man, woman and child in sight._

Draco awoke with a start, awaking Hermione. 

 

“What’s wrong?” she murmured as she pulled him back down into her arms.

 

He sighed, not sure if he wanted to confide in her.  Finally he said, “I’ve been having weird dreams, but go back to sleep.”  He could see the spark of recognition in her eyes, but knew that he didn’t want to have this conversation in the middle of the night.  “We can talk about it tomorrow.”  He was amazed when she conceded, snuggling back in his arms with a sigh.

 

**~H~P~**

 

_21 March 2003_

 

Draco hoped that when they both awoke, Hermione would not remember his admission the night before, but he was not that lucky.  Over a breakfast of omelettes and toast, she broached the subject. 

 

“What are your nightmares about?”

 

Draco thought about lying, but knowing what he did about Hermione, he had a feeling that she would know that he was lying.  So he did the very un-Slytherin like thing.  He told her the absolute truth about his weekly nightmares.  As he told the story, he noticed that she was uncharacteristically quiet and braced himself for the worst.  “You think I’m nutters, don’t you?”

 

“Actually, no.  Ginny, Harry and I have had similar dreams.  Four of them in total, spanning a month’s time.  Each dream was on a Friday night.  We have no idea of why, although something keeps teasing me about it.”

 

“What do you mean?” Draco asked in relief that she believed him.

 

“I almost think that I’ve heard something like this before, but I can’t remember when.”

 

Draco thought about it.   “I don’t think I have.”

 

Hermione shrugged.  “I’m sure it will come to me if I don’t think about it.”

 

Draco nodded.  “So, you’re off work today?” he asked with a twinkle in eyes as he pushed the food away from the table.

 

**H~P**

 

The following week found Draco together with Hermione at any time their respective duties allowed.  With Lucius’ urging, he began to attend the various board meetings for Malfoy Enterprises.  With the additional meetings, he found his obsession over finding Blaise waning and in its place a longing for Scorpius to return home grew.

 

He was musing over his change in feelings when he felt a familiar pair of arms encircle him.  “What are you thinking about?” Hermione breathed into his ear.

 

“Scorpius.”

 

Hermione’s arms tightened around him.  “Harry will find him.”

 

Draco didn’t say anything, just leaned into her soothing presence.

 

“Draco?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Can we go visit the Manor’s library?”

 

Draco chuckled.  “I’d wondered how long it would take you to ask.  I’d be happy to share the library with you.  I think that you will enjoy some of the works in there.  The truly dark books have been removed.”

 

Hermione returned his laugh.  “Maybe something will give me an inkling of what our dreams are about.”

 

“Perhaps,” he said as he arose.  “Please, let me show you to the library.”

 

Hermione took his arm as he led her from his private study down to the room he was sure to lose her to.  He had never met someone who loved books as much as he did.  He paused at the door, winking at her before he opened it.  “Milady,” he said with a bow.

 

She just walked in, her eyes taking in the rows and rows of books as she breathed in the familiar scent of parchment and leather.  “Oh, this is amazing.”

 

He just shook his head as he settled at a table to watch her peruse the substantial collection that his family had put together over the past millennia, while pulling a book towards him.

 

Hours later, both Hermione and Draco were both engrossed in their respective novels.  Hermione was reading a history of purebloods, whilst Draco was reading _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde._   Hermione stretched a bit as she closed the book with a thud, a look of revulsion on her face.  “I swear, I don’t understand Purebloods.  Some of what they are advocating is repulsive,” she said with a shudder.

 

Draco looked up from his book.  “If it helps, most of the customs come from the Middle Ages.  Not many families actually follow those practices.”

 

Hermione sighed as she settled down onto a sofa next to him.  “It’s not just that.  It was the way it was written.  It’s almost like it was the Wizarding version of the Ten Commandments.”

 

“What?” Draco asked in confusion.

 

“It’s a Muggle religious thing,” Hermione said with a wave of her hand.

 

Draco thought for a moment.  “Ah, in the Bible, right?”  He chuckled at the shocked look on her face.  “Just because my family has a history of hating Muggles does not mean that we did not do everything we could to learn about them.  After all, the better we understand them, the better we could rule them, correct?”

 

Hermione just shook her head.  “That is just diabolical.”

 

Draco laughed.  “I actually think we have an original Guttenberg Bible somewhere in here, too.”

 

Something clicked in Hermione’s mind at that point.  “The Bible!  That’s it!” she exclaimed excitedly.

 

“What?”

 

“That’s why the dream seems so familiar to me.  I swear, I must be dense not to have realised it before.  The dreams.  The horse and rider.  They are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Ginny dreamt of a man on a white horse.  That would represent Pestilence.  Harry’s was red, so that must be War.  Mine was black, so that must represent Famine…”

 

“And mine is pale green which represents Death,” Draco finished.

 

“So why are we dreaming of this?  Why would we of all people be dreaming about some religious mythology?  None of us are particularly religious by nature.”

 

Draco thought for a moment.  “There is an old story of four wizards that wanted to take over the world.  Many scholars believe that they are where the story of the Horsemen originates from.”  He stood and moved into the stacks of books, looking for one in particular.  “Ah, here we go,” he called out before walking back towards a table.

 

“What is it?” Hermione asked as she looked at the hide-bound book of parchment so old that she was afraid to breathe on it lest it turn to dust.

 

“It is a book dating from the years after Merlin disappearance.  There is only one other in existence and it is housed in the Department of Mysteries.  The author is unknown, but if I recall rightly it might shed some light on the original horsemen which spawned the religious myth.”

 

With interest, Hermione leaned over.  “Be careful.”

 

Draco laughed.  “We’re magical, Hermione.  The book is spelled with preservation spells so that it is as sturdy as the day it was bound,” he chided her as he opened the book.  “Unfortunately, it is written in Old English, so it might take some deciphering.”

 

Hermione raised an eyebrow.  “That’s what translation spells are for,” she said before muttering under her breath while weaving a complicated pattern above the book.  Once the light from her wand receded she smirked.  “There.  All translated into modern English.”

 

Draco flashed her a smile as they began to read.

 

_Two score_ _years have passed since the Plague began and ended with the disappearance of those who wished to rule the world.  Their origins and their banishment were unknown, however the mark the have left on this world have been immense.  Already the local non magical people are talking of plagues from the Gods and how this is a punishment for their sins._

_The council is lost without Merlin’s guidance and the rift between those of us who hold magic in us is growing.  I fear without some interference there will be blood shed.  The magical community is gathering together and already there are talks of the inferiority of those whom magic has not presented itself.  If this situation doesn’t resolve itself soon, the mark of those who called themselves the horsemen of the apocalypse will be forever felt._

 

Draco and Hermione shared a glance as they skimmed the following passages, which only contained the further deterioration of relations between the magical and non-magical world, which ended with the division of the two worlds.

 

“Wow,” Hermione breathed.  “We’ve found the reason for the why Muggles don’t know about magic!”

 

“Possibly, but that still doesn’t explain why we are having these dreams!”

 

“At least we have a direction to go in,” Hermione countered trying to smother a yawn.  “Look.  We are both tired.  Why don’t we start afresh tomorrow?  Both of us could use some sleep.”

 

Draco grinned at her.  “I think I could put off sleep for a little bit,” he said lowly as he ran his fingers up her arm.  “Don’t you?”

 

“Perhaps,” Hermione said with her own smirk before quickly waving her wand and sending the books back to their appropriate places.  “You have to catch me first.”

 

Draco took her up on the challenge and followed her out the room with a laugh.

 

**H~P**

 

_Draco awoke again to a sea of white, but this time he felt as if something was different.  For one, this time he appeared in the village, he didn’t have to move towards it and the people were not as carefree as the last villages.  There was a large group standing around a fire in the village centre, so he moved closer.  Unfortunately, he didn’t understand a word that the young woman in the midst of them was saying._

_As he watched her gesture wildly with her arms, the dreaded sound of the horse rang through the air.  He turned with the group to peer in the direction that the sound was emanating from.  To his surprise the young woman stepped to the front._

_As the horseman came into view, she held out her arms to the side and called something out to him.  The horseman laughed and shouted something back.  Draco guessed it was a threat from the nervous step back that the rest of the village took.  The woman stood her ground as the wind began to pick up around them._

_The horseman looked nervously at the wind, but that did not stop him from holding out his hands.  Once again the green light flowed from him.  Draco watched in sadness as it moved towards the people._ Why do these people have to die every time? _As soon as the thought crossed his mind, something unusual happened.  The green light was caught up by the wind and it swirled harmlessly in front of the triumphant woman.  She flashed a smile that was worth of a Malfoy smirk as the horseman continued to emit the light harmlessly._

_Finally, the light ceased as the horseman shouted something in anger.  The woman responded and moved her arms forward.  The winds stopped circling in front of them and instead it began to flow towards the horseman, who turned in fear.  The woman laughed as the horseman galloped out of sight, the wind following in._

Draco awoke, this time managing to keep from awaking Hermione as well.  _Well, that was different._

 

**~H~P~**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. That is the last chapter for today! On Monday, I'll be posting chapters 23-27 (5 total) in order to get caught up with where I have posted on ff.net. After that, it will be 1 chapter on Monday, Wednesday and Friday until the story is completely posted (i.e. I am reworking 33 and 34 because I just wasn't happy with them!). :p As always, thanks for Kudos and reviews. They make my day.


	23. Realisations

Hermione awoke early the next morning, still wrapped in Draco’s arms.  Her mind was already whirling with the information that they had gathered the night before.  Making plans, she cast the Tempus charm before determining that Harry and Ginny might actually kill her for waking them up at five o’clock in the morning.  Sighing, she crawled out of the bed, pleased when she managed the feat without waking her bed partner.

 

Adjusting her plans, she threw on a dressing gown to make her way back to the library to find the book Draco showed her the night before.  It took her a few moments to locate the ancient tome, but once she did, she quickly settled down at the table and began to read the book from the beginning.

 

An unknown amount of time had passed when she felt a soft kiss on the top of her head.  She looked up and found Draco, dressed in a comfortable set of robes, staring down at her with amusement in his eyes.  “Good morning,” she said with a smile.

 

“Good morning,” he returned as he took in the number of pages she had read and the stack of parchment next to her with notes obviously written on them.  “What time did you get up?”

 

“Um…five.”

 

“Merlin, woman!  It’s half nine now?  Have you eaten?”  He snorted as she shook her head.  “Why don’t you go dress and I’ll have the Elves bring us some breakfast to my room.”

 

Hermione nodded with a wry grin as her stomach rumbled audibly.  “Then, I think we should go to Grimmauld and talk to Harry and Ginny.  We need to find out exactly what these dreams are telling us.”

 

Draco just nodded he guided her from the library.

 

An hour later, they were both standing in the entryway of Grimmauld Place.   Hermione began to guide him to the kitchen, knowing that the discussion they were about to have would go more pleasantly with a spot of tea.  As they walked past the black curtains, Draco paused.

 

“Why are you stopping?” Hermione asked quietly, not wanting to awake the obnoxious portrait.

 

“I have an idea,” he returned lowly.  “It would be better if you were to move out of sight, though.”

 

Intrigued, Hermione moved around the corner, out of sight of the portrait.

 

Draco drew a breath and put on his best Malfoy face before drawing open the curtains.

 

“BLOOD TRAITORS!!!!” Mrs. Black screamed before realising whom had opened the curtains.

 

Draco kept his expression neutral.  “Madame Black,” he intoned formally.

 

“Lucius Malfoy?” she asked, her face a study of puzzlement.

 

“No, ma’am.  I’m Lucius’ son, Draco.”

 

“What are you doing here?  Are you here to re-establish the Noble House of Black?”

 

Draco hid his smirk.  “Unfortunately I am not in a position to do that, ma’am.  However, I would like to make you a proposition.”

 

“Go on, young man.”

 

“How would you like to reside in the halls of Malfoy Manor with my ancestors?  I discussed your unfortunate situation with my grandfather Abraxas and he suggested that you move to a portrait in our gallery.”

 

The portrait raised her head haughtily.  “And what of this house?”

 

“There is no longer a male of the House of Black, Madame.”

 

She snorted.  “I know that boy.”

 

“Narcissa is still living at the Manor.  She will not sully herself by consorting with those beneath her.”  He mentally crossed his fingers and hoped his mother would forgive him for the lie.

 

The portrait seemed to debate the issue for a few moments.  “I shall allow this.  It will be nice to speak to people worthy of my time again.”

 

“My deepest thanks, Madame.  How do I remove your portrait?”

 

She laughed.  “Simply place a dot of blood on my frame and say the counter spell for the sticking charm.  Only a pureblood of Black lineage is able to remove me.”

 

“Brilliant plan, Madame.  I must commend you for your ingenious thinking,” he complimented, lathering on the praise as he did as instructed.  The frame unattached from the wall, he called for Willa.

 

The elf appeared quickly.  “Yes, Master Draco?”

 

“Willa, will you please place Mrs. Black’s portrait in the gallery alongside my grandfather?”

 

“At once, Master,” the small elf replied as she grasped the portrait and winked out of sight.

 

“Draco, that was brilliant!” Hermione crowed as she walked back into sight.  “You appealed to her snobbishness!”

 

Draco laughed as she threw herself into his arms, much to the amusement of Harry and Ginny, who were standing behind her with their mouth open.

 

“I did talk to Abraxas and found some out some interesting information.  It appears as if they were in love, but both were betrothed to someone else, so that is why she pushed for one of her daughters to be married to my father.”

 

“That was bloody amazing, Draco.  I can not thank you enough for getting her out of this house,” Harry said as he extended hand.

 

“Yes, it was amazing,” Ginny interrupted.  “We have much to discuss, though.”

 

Draco kept his arm around Hermione as they walked into the kitchen.  As they settled at the table, he looked around.  “So, who had the dreams first?”

 

“I did.  The first week of December,” Ginny answered.

 

Hermione drew out a notebook and searched in her bag for a quill.  “Bollocks.  I forgot the quill.  Do you have one I can use, Harry?”

 

Harry nodded and rose.  It only took a couple of moments for him arrive back in the kitchen with a pot of ink and a quill.  “Taking notes as always, Mione?” he teased her.

 

She laughed a raised an eyebrow.  “Of course.  You know that we can’t plan anything if I don’t take notes!  Anyway, why don’t we go around and describe each dream.  Ginny you start and we’ll go in chronological order.”

 

Draco settled back and watched Hermione take control of the situation.  _Huh, know I know why Voldemort lost!  She is the most organised person that I’ve ever seen._   He brought his attention back to the group and listened carefully as Ginny began to describe her dreams.

 

Hours passed as they described what they had seen, Hermione scribbling away, filling page after page of parchment with notes.  Once Draco had finished his part, the delicious scent of roasting meat filled the air as Kreacher took a platter out of an oven.

 

Hermione worried her lip as she glanced over the notes.  “Okay, so all of the dreams have common threads.  Each one of them deals with a particular Horseman of the Apocalypse.  What I find intriguing is that the last dream each of us had showed that particular Horseman being defeated.”

 

“Maybe it is telling us how the disaster was averted?” Ginny concluded.

 

“Yes, but why us?  Why now?” Hermione said.

 

Harry had been silent up to this point, his mind working.  “What if this has something to do with Blaise and Pansy?”

 

Draco sat up quickly at that.  “What do you mean?” he asked abruptly.

 

Harry just raised an eyebrow.  “Think about it.  Blaise, Goyle, Pansy and Astoria.  Four people, four horsemen?  Maybe they are trying to invoke this power.”

 

The four of them fell silent as they contemplated the implications of Harry’s astute observation.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Astoria arrived back at the mansion, her heart fluttering wildly.  She fought down the feelings, hoping that Blaise would not realise that her unexpected happiness was from seeing Scorpius, not from the deaths that she had caused. 

 

She took one more deep breath as she walked into the hall, to find Blaise waiting for her.

 

“Follow me,” he said as he took her bags away from her.

 

She followed him meekly, wondering if he had discovered her secret.  She held in a sigh of relief when he led her to the study where Pansy and Greg were waiting.  She sat down in the empty chair as he brought her a glass of wine.

 

“How did you fair?” Blaise asked her.

 

“It was different at first, but I am able to controlling killing people without using the Killing Curse.”

 

“Good, good.  I knew that you could do it.  Now, we must begin to plan our attack on the world.  I believe we should begin with the power centres.  London, Washington D.C., Paris, Tokyo.”

 

Astoria shared a shocked look with Pansy.

 

“But Blaise, wouldn’t it be better to start small and work our way up?  All of those cities are protected, both magically and by Muggles.  There are only just four of us.”

 

Blaise shot her a look of contempt.  “Four of us that carry the more power than the Dark Lord ever dreamt of, but you do make an excellent point.  We need to have a Muggle power base to counteract their technology.”

 

Astoria breathed a sigh of relief.  She could tell from his expression that this was a possibility that he had not already planned out, which meant that she had more time to work with Pansy to try to get out of whatever he planned.  He dismissed them all with a wave and she grabbed Pansy.  “Pans, after a month away from modern comforts, I could use your help with a manicure and pedicure.  Come to my room,” she said lightly as the three of them left the room.

 

Greg just grunted as walked off to his own room.

 

Once behind the doors, Astoria grabbed Pansy and gave her a big hug.  “I met Valdis,” she said simply.

 

Pansy opened her eyes wide.  “Tell me what happened.”

 

Astoria settled on the bed and began to recount her adventures.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Draco sat around the kitchen table, all pleasantly full.  Kreacher had outdone himself in preparing the lunch.

 

“What we need is some record of the previous Horseman and if they were in fact real,” Hermione said.

 

“We can search our library.  I moved the Dark Arts books to the basement, but we still have them,” Ginny said.

 

Draco nodded.  “I can search the Malfoy library, but I’ve read the majority of the books and I don’t recall anything that would be relevant other than the book we’ve already read.”

 

Hermione nodded.  “I’ll see if Minerva will let me search the Hogwarts library.  Harry, can you check the Ministry archives?”

 

“Sure.  I’ll try to do that.”  He was interrupted by the Floo activating.

 

“Harry!”

 

The group rose with varying expressions of dread on their faces as Ron burst into the room.

 

“What?” Harry asked quickly.

 

Ron just smiled.  “I think I’ve found them.  I think they are in South Africa.”

 

Draco gripped his wand tightly as the words sunk in.  “When do we leave?” he said, his voice deadly.

 

Ron stepped back at the furious look in Draco’s eyes.  “ _We_ don’t,” he shot back.  “I’ve only narrowed it to the country.  We still have to work with the local authorities and locate their hideout.  This is a matter for the Aurors, Malfoy.  Not you.”

 

Draco’s eyes grew glacial.  “If you think that you’re going to leave me behind when you go to locate my son, you are mistaken, Weasley.  I will be there.”

 

Harry stepped between the two men.  “Hold on.  Ron, tell me what you’ve found.  And yes, you can speak freely in front of _Draco._ ”

 

Ron snapped his mouth closed and then shook his head.  “Fine.  Several months before Scorpius was taken, Zabini made multiple trips to South Africa.  He also shipped many packages there as well.  I rechecked all of the properties in America and he has not been at any one of them for at least a year.”

 

“That’s all you have,” Draco exclaimed.

 

Ron turned at looked at him.  “It’s more than we’ve had in five months, Malfoy.  Trust me when I say that my intel is solid.  This is our best shot.”

 

“Have you contacted the authorities?” Harry interrupted.

 

“I’ve sent an inquiry.  It will take a couple of days to process.”

 

“Good,” he said as he turned.  “Draco, don’t do anything.  If they even suspect that we’ve discovered their location we could lose them again.”

 

Draco ground his teeth as Hermione gripped his arm.

 

“Trust them, Draco.  They are the best Aurors the Ministry has.”

 

He finally nodded.  “Fine.  But I want to be there when you take them down.”

 

“We’ll talk about it,” Harry hedged.

 

Hermione knew that she had to distract Draco, so she turned to him and said, “Draco?  Let’s go back to the Manor and start to look at the library.”

 

Ginny nodded.  “Good idea.  I’ll start looking here and Harry and Ron can work on locating Blaise.”

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Hermione responded as she pulled Draco out of the kitchen.

 

**~H~P~**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was really a transition chapter, as well as the next one will be as well. I hadn’t originally intended it to go this way, but the characters tend to have a life of their own and they insisted that I write this! So, please read and review and let me know your thoughts!


	24. A Step in the Right Direction

Two slow and torturous months passed with no further development.  The South African magical police were blocking every attempt by Ron and Harry to enter the country to legally search it, so the men were researching how exactly to enter the country without the authorities knowing about it.

 

“Look, Ron,” Harry said.  “I know that you don’t want to include Draco in on this, but really, he has the connections that we need to do this.  He helps his father run a bloody international company.  If anyone can do this, they can.”  Harry kept his tone even as he said the same thing for the third time in five minutes.

 

“This is _Malfoy_ you’re talking about, Harry.  Why do you think that we can trust him?” Ron shot back.

 

“I trust him because Hermione does, Ron.  You _know_ how good her instincts are.  Hell, she was right about Snape all along!  I think Luna would say the same thing.  He has the connections, Hermione can keep him in line and maybe, just maybe we can bring his son home.”

 

Ron looked at Harry, seeing the steely determination in his green eyes.  A look eerily familiar to the one Harry had that year on the run.  Finally he sighed in defeat.  “Fine.  But this is on you and don’t stop me when I say I told you so.”

 

“Fair enough,” Harry said as he threw some Floo powder into the fire, calling out Malfoy Manor before stepping through the flames with Ron right behind him.

 

They brushed themselves off while a House Elf led them to a study to await Draco.  They had just sat down when Draco and Hermione walked in. 

 

Hermione just looked at them and smirked.  “So, you finally decided to ask for help?”

 

Both men flushed while Draco raised an eyebrow.  “Did I miss something?”

 

Hermione giggled.  “I believe that they have discovered that the Malfoy connections may be of more use in this situation than their official connections.”

 

Draco, never slow to catch an insinuation, smirked.  “So, South Africa is blocking your official inquiries.  Good thing that my father has connections within their government that can ease your passage.”

 

Ron managed to look both affronted and sheepish at the same time, hating asking this particular family for anything, but he had grown and learned when to accept help as it was offered.

 

Harry, on the other hand, held his gaze steady with Draco.  “I guess it is.  I don’t like involving private citizens like this, but I am willing to let that pass this time.  The need to get to South Africa overwhelms the desire to go by the book.”

 

Draco nodded, surprised by the Harry’s bluntness.  “Expect something in a few days,” he said as he turned and left the room abruptly.

 

“Well that was rude,” Ron scoffed, only to find Hermione’s furious gaze upon him.

 

“I’m sorry, what Ronald?” she hissed.  “It was rude of him to leave the room to make the _arrangements_ that you and Harry need to find _his son?!_ ”

 

Ron held up his hand, cursing his mouth for speaking before his brain checked his thought.  “No!  That’s not what I meant,” he tried to pacify her.  “Look, you know as well as anyone that my mouth is not connected to my brain.”

 

As quickly has her ire had arisen, Hermione felt her anger drain away.  “You are right Ron.  I’m surprised you’ve held back this long.”  She sighed.  “We’ve still not been able to locate anything on the Horseman.  I’ve scoured the Malfoy Family and Hogwarts libraries, as well as the Black library after Ginny had looked, but no luck.”

 

“If anyone can find the information, it’s you,” Harry reassured her.  He looked at Ron and nodded.  “Let’s go, mate.”  He knew that Hermione would find the information that they needed, if it existed, but for once was glad that keeping track of her while she was in research mode was no longer a chore for him.  _I hope Draco knows what he is in for,_ he thought ruefully as he stepped back through the green flames and into his office.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco stared at the placid river in front of them.  The current was slow, peaceful and the trees and scrub around it a vibrant green colour.  After the still chilly temperatures of London, with its famous fog during the spring, the bright blue skies and warm temperature of Mozambique infused each of them with a little warmth and hope that their plan would not be discovered.

 

Hermione turned to Draco.  “So, you have us here and told us that you would explain why we are in Mozambique and not South Africa.”

 

Draco smiled.  “Indeed.  Father listened to what I had told him about you being blocked from South Africa and concluded that Blaise had someone under his influence high in the government.  So, he postulated that the best course of action was to enter the country illegally.  Thus, here we are, close to the border or Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa.  He used _his_ contacts in Mozambique to drop us in the middle of nowhere, at a place where we can enter the country.”

 

“So, how is that going to help us?” Ron asked snidely.    “This is about as far away as we can get from Blaise’s property.”

 

Draco sighed, but began to explain the plan to Ron in terms that he would use with a child.  “Blaise has contacts in the magical government.  If we enter the country by magical means, we will be discovered.  If we use magic in South Africa, we will be discovered.  Father has some rather unusual contacts, all of them Muggle, and has arranged for our guide through the country to meet us in Kruger National Park.  He will then drive us to Karoo National Park, which is where Blaise has his hidden mansion.”

 

Harry nodded.  “Sounds like a plan.  Just one question, why does your father have Muggle contacts?  I thought he hated Muggles.”

 

Draco shrugged.  “My father loves money more than anything.”

 

“I suggest that we transfigure our clothes here, then,” Hermione interrupted, her mind racing.  “We need to blend in with Muggles.”

 

They nodded before quickly waving their wands and soon all four of them were dressed in garb that was typical to an African safari.  The tan linen was much cooler than the cotton and wool blend they had been wearing.  Hermione conjured a boggle to pull her long hair back into a pony tail.

 

Taking one long look at each of them, Draco waved his wand over a broken log and quickly transfigured it into a boat to take them across the river.  “All right.  I don’t know exactly where the border to South Africa is, other than close to the river, so we will not be using any magic after we cross it.”

 

Harry nodded as him and Ron took a mental inventory of the supplies that they had been dropped off with.  “I think we’re all set.”

 

As soon as they were in the boat, Draco waved his wand silently at it moved across the placid river quickly.  Once they were out, Ron said lowly, “What do we do about the boat?  Destroy it or hide it.”

 

Harry was the one that answered him.  “I think we should hide it in the underbrush.  If everything goes pear-shaped then we will have a way to cross the river again.”

 

 _If everything goes pear-shaped, we will probably not be in the condition to cross the river,_ Hermione thought quickly, but nodded her head in agreement, glad that Harry was staying both optimistic and practical.

 

Plan of action set, the four of them began to trudge through the dense foliage that lined the river.

 

Two hours later, Hermione was discovering how out of shape she had become since the war ended.  Her face was red with exertion and her legs felt like jelly.  “Can we stop for a moment?” she finally asked when she was sure that she couldn’t take another step.

 

Draco looked at her and smiled.  “Out of shape, Granger?” he teased.

 

“ _Malfoy_ , not all of us have a schedule in which we can exercise regularly.  At least, this sort of exercise,” she teased right back.

 

Both Harry and Ron groaned, catching her innuendo.  “I’m bushed, too,” Ron jumped in, trying to change the conversation.  “When are we supposed to be running into your contact, Malfoy?”

 

Draco shrugged.  “I’m not sure of the exact time, but we are meant to meet up in the woods.  There will be a Baobab tree with _Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus_ carved into it.  I assume the contact will be watching for us to arrive.”

 

“Isn’t the Hogwarts motto a little obvious?” Harry asked, echoing all of their thoughts. 

 

“Trust my father when he says that there is no way Blaise would come to this location.  He is a man who enjoys wealth,” Draco shot back, his voice dripping with venom.  “Plus, he does not expect me to be anywhere close to a forest.”

 

Hermione raised an eyebrow.  “Never went camping as children, did you?”

 

Draco smirked, raising his nose slightly in the air.  “That would be…unseemly,” he drolled in the perfect imitation of his father.

 

Hermione giggled as she took a drink from her canteen before taking a deep breath.  “We should go, since you have no idea how long it will take to walk to this one particular tree in a forest of trees.”

 

Draco rolled his eyes.  “I know the general area and my father supplied me with a Muggle compass which I’ve been checking.  If we stay on the course that I’ve been following, we should find the tree in the next few hours at most.”

 

Harry sighed, grateful that the blond had a plan, even if he was being tight lipped about it.  Even with that thought, he couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Do you want to include the rest of us in the full plan, Draco?”

 

“No, Potter, I don’t.  Trust me when I say, the less you know of this in an official capacity, the better it is for all of us.”

 

Hermione harrumphed.  “I’m not sure I want to know exactly how many laws we are breaking.”

 

The men just laughed at her typical response.  

 

They lapsed back into silence as they walked and soon the foliage began to thin.  With the trail becoming clearer, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief at being able to keep up with the men without stumbling over every branch and root, even with their pace increasing.  As the sun reached its zenith, they walked into a clearing with an enormous Baobab tree in its centre.  Carefully chipped into its bark was the unmistakable motto of Hogwarts.

 

“Never tickle a sleeping dragon,” Draco said with a smile.

 

Hermione just raised an eyebrow.  “Personally, I have always preferred the saying, ‘Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with catsup.’”

 

Draco dropped his voice.  “Do you taste good with catsup?” he murmured into her ear.

 

Hermione didn’t have a chance to respond as a figure stepped from behind the tree.

 

“I am a brother to dragons,” the dark skinned man said.

 

Draco nodded and responded with the appropriate answer, “And a companion to owls.”

 

The man breathed a sigh of relief.  “I am Noel,” he said.  “I shall be your guide.”

 

“Pleasure to meet you, Noel.  I am Draco, this is Hermione, Harry and Ron.”

 

Noel nodded.  “If you will please follow me.  We have a long drive ahead of us.”

 

Silently, the group followed the man to a waiting Land Rover, each wondering what they would find at the end of their journey.

 

**~H~P~**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No other information for this chapter, but just to let everyone know, I will be posting Monday, Wednesday and Friday until the story is complete! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, faved or followed this story. It makes my day to get those emails! As always, this is not beta’d, but if you see any obvious mistakes, please let me know and I’ll fix them!


	25. Two Steps Forward

Astoria and Pansy were sitting at the dining table when Blaise walked in.  “We must leave this place,” he said without preamble.

 

Pansy raised an eyebrow.  “Why?”

 

“I have received some troubling news that Pottyhead and the Weasel are trying to enter South Africa.  So far, my friend in the government has managed to block them, but I fear that he can not do that for much longer without drawing undo attention upon himself.”

 

The women shared a glance, knowing that Blaise had grown more arrogant and paranoid since Astoria had returned and the power of the Horsemen had fully manifested, bolstering each other their magical cores as well.  “So where will we go?” Pansy asked calmly.  “I would guess that if Potter has found this place, he will have found the majority of your properties worldwide, Blaise.”

 

Blaise just smirked.  “Leave that to me, Pans.  Just pack all of your belongings.  Leave nothing behind for them to track.”  His eyes glittered dangerously as gave the order, but both of them just nodded meekly, not wanting to bring attention to themselves. 

 

Quietly they left the room, both making their way to Pansy’s suite of rooms.  Once ensconced, Pansy quickly cast a spell she had learned from her brother, to make it seem as if they were talking about inconsequential things.  “This is good,” she said with a smile.  “If Potter has found us, then that means that maybe we can end this charade.”  She sighed.  “I never wanted to be at the whims of a madman again.”

 

Astoria smiled.  “I just want this to be over.  I can’t make things right with Draco, but I at least want him to know that I did not participate in this willingly.  What do you think Blaise is planning?”

 

Pansy shrugged as she began waving her wand to pack up all her belongings.  “He probably has a plan.  My guess is that we will not stay in one place for very long.   I fear this may also cause Blaise to push up whatever timetable he has about taking over the world.”

 

“That means unless Potter manages to find us quickly, we are going to have to use our powers,” Astoria muttered, resignation colouring her voice.

 

“I think so,” Pansy confirmed before shrugging.  “Look, so and pack up.  We will just have to figure out how to keep the plan minimised to get them time to catch us.  If anyone can match Blaise for power it’s Harry Potter.”

 

“But what if Blaise decided to use our powers against him.  You can refuse Pansy, I can’t.  The slave bond will make me use my power to kill him.”

 

Pansy shook her head.  “Let’s just hope that it doesn’t come to that, Astoria.”

 

Astoria just chewed on her bottom lip as she walked out of Pansy’s suite and made her way to her own, trying to think of a way to prevent the destruction of the world that she felt was coming.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Draco stared out of the window as the landscape flashed by quickly.  He had never ridden in an automobile before and he found it a bit disconcerting.  He didn’t like the lack of control that he felt.  He looked down to his left, where Hermione lay snuggled against him, snoring softly and Harry sat next to her, his eyes closed as his head lay against the glass.  _How can they sleep?_ he wondered.  He certainly did not feel secure enough to let sleep overcome him for a long period, although when the sun had set he had been lulled to sleep for a few hours.

 

Ahead of him, he couldn’t see what Ron was doing, but he knew by the frequent movements the man was making, he was not succumbing to sleep either.  They had stopped frequently to begin the trip, which took them through the capital city of Johannesburg.  That segment of the trip had left Draco clutching the leather of the seat until his knuckles were white as other vehicles and people seemed intent on hitting them.  When he had turned to Hermione to see how she was dealing with the attempts on their lives, he found her smiling and chatting with Potter as if she had no cares in the world.

 

“We are within an hour of arriving,” Noel said from the front seat.

 

Draco breathed as sigh of relief and turned to awaken Hermione.  “Time to wake up,” he said softly as he stroked her cheek with his right hand.

 

Hermione stirred as she felt Draco’s fingers on her cheek.  She smiled when she heard his soft voice and slowly opened her eyes.  “Hey,” she said as she stared at his face.  “Did you sleep?”

 

Draco shook his head as he raised an eyebrow.  “Are you joking?  I’m wondering how you could sleep in this moving death trap.”

 

Hermione giggled.  “It’s not a death trap, at least not to me.  I grew up with long trips in my parent’s car.  I actually sleep better than I do normally in a car.”

 

Draco shook his head, wondering how that was possible.  “Noel says we have about an hour before we arrive.”

 

Hermione nodded and poked Harry until he awoke.  “We’re an hour away,” she said simply as he looked at her in annoyance.

 

Harry nodded his head as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes.  “Thanks.  I had a dream whilst I was sleeping.  If we can’t use magic lest we be discovered, how are we going to break into Zabini’s mansion?  I don’t believe that he is the type to live without a multitude of wards protecting him.”

 

“It won’t matter by that time,” Draco responded darkly.  “I am certain that I can break the wards, so you three will stay hidden whilst I bring them down.”

 

Hermione shook her head.  “No.  We will not split up.”

 

Ron cleared his throat.  “I hate to admit this, but Malfoy has a point Hermione.   If we stayed hidden, strategically it is a good decision.”

 

Hermione shook her head emphatically, not liking the idea of leaving Draco vulnerable.  “No.  I refuse.”

 

Harry placed his hand on her knee, his long friendship with her letting him know that she did not want to leave Draco alone.  He sighed and decided on a compromise.  “Why don’t you and Draco stay together and then Ron and I can stay under a Disillusionment charm.”

 

Draco bit back his automatic response that he didn’t want her with him, that it was too dangerous, but he fought it down.  Firstly, he was certain that she could kick his arse in a fight, and secondly it was an unexpected bonus to have someone close to him that wanted to have his back. 

 

Hermione smirked.  “Done.”

 

They passed the rest of the trip in silence, each mentally preparing themselves for what lay ahead.  Draco was going over the wards that he knew Blaise had cast prior, Hermione determining the best way to keep everyone safe, Harry and Ron were both making plans on what to do if their plan blew up in their faces.

 

Draco stared out the window as the car slowed down.  “Stop here, Noel,” he instructed, knowing that Blaise would have put up Muggle repelling wards.  “We will walk from here.”

 

“I will wait here for you, yes?” the man asked.

 

Draco shook his head.  “No, you can leave.”

 

“But…” Noel began before seeing the look in the Draco’s eyes.  “All right.”

 

Quietly, they climbed out of the Land Rover, Draco taking a moment to pass a handful of bills to Noel before he drove off.  He shared glances at with the others before slowly walking up the gravelled pathway.  They walked for a kilometre before Draco stopped.  “I can feel his wards.”

 

“How?” Ron asked.

 

“He used Dark Magic.  With my—upbringing—I am sensitive to it.”  He shook his head.  “You should make yourself invisible now.  I’ll bring down the wards.”

 

Harry and Ron nodded, before waving their wands over themselves and becoming part of the foliage.  Hermione squared her shoulders and withdrew her wand from her bag.  With a nod to Draco, she faced forward and prepared herself for whatever happened when the wards finally dropped.

 

Draco took a deep breath and thought about the wards.  He raised his wand and began to chant quietly under his breath.  With every swish of the wand, he could feel the wards weakening.  Finally after five minutes, he felt them drop.  “There down,” he said, discomfort creeping up him.  _That was too easy._

 

“Let’s wait and see if anyone shows up,” came the disembodied voice of Harry.

 

“Good idea,” said Ron.

 

Hermione kept her wand at the ready, but after half an hour had passed and no one showed up and no hexes came flying their way, she began to walk forwards.  “Come on,” she said.  “Obviously, they are not going to come to us, so we will just have to go to them.”

 

Harry and Ron quickly dropped the charm and joined them on the walk towards up the pathway.  It only took them a couple of moments before reaching the impressive black wrought-iron gates that stood guard at the drive. 

 

“Do you think there are additional wards?” Harry asked Draco.

 

The blond shook his head, still feeling niggles of doubt at the ease in which they gotten this close.  He closed his eyes briefly, to feel the magic around him before opening them up again.  “Not of a Dark Magic variety, at least.  Regular wards maybe.”

 

Ron nodded his head and without warning pushed the gates open.  They were well oiled and swung open silently.  He turned and looked at them.  “Well, we’re not going to find anything out by standing here, are we?”  With that proclamation, he strode up the walk towards the mansion standing on a small hill. 

 

The mansion was large, sprawling over out to each side into the trees.  There was a wide porch shrouded in shadows and they could just make out the dark mahogany doors that signalled the entrance.

 

Hermione studied the house before quickly muttering, “ _Homenum Revelio.”_    After a moment, she shook her head.  “No one is here.”

 

Draco pursed his lips in thought.  “We should still proceed cautiously.  Blaise could have placed traps on the house.”

 

Keeping that in mind, the group carefully entered the house, Harry and Ron taking point since they had experience in disabling booby-traps that former Death Eaters had left on their property.

 

Multi-coloured light was emitted from their wands as they silently cast charm after charm to reveal any traps, but none were discovered.  Once Harry was certain that there was nothing harmful in the house he looked at the other three. 

 

“We should split up and examine the house.  See if we can find anything that will indicate where they have gone.  Meet back here in the foyer,” Harry instructed, going into full Auror-mode.

 

Each nodded in agreement and walked off in different directions.  An hour passed during their search, but each came back empty handed.  Draco sighed as he looked at them.  “He knew we were close and he left.  I used every spell I know, both Dark and Light and there is nothing left of them.  No hair, nothing that we can use a tracer spell on.”

 

“So what do we do now?” Hermione asked.

 

“We go back to England and start the search over,” Ron stated, smothering a yawn.  “We have a Portkey to take us back to Grimmauld and I don’t know about you, but I’m knackered.  I need sleep.”

 

Draco sighed in frustration.  “Fine, but when I get my hands on that bloody arsehole, I’m going to kill him with my bare hands.”

 

“We’ll find them, Draco.  I know we will,” Hermione said softly as she placed her hand on his arm in comfort.

 

“Where’s the Portkey?” Draco asked.

 

Ron withdrew an old shoe from his bag, which he tapped once.  “Everyone grab on, it will be active in thirty seconds.”

 

Hermione held onto Draco’s arm as she felt the familiar tug behind her navel.  Quickly she closed her eyes, knowing from prior experience that it would not unsettle her stomach as much.  When she landed, she knew something was wrong and quickly reopened her eyes, seeing a sea of snow.  Panic filling her eyes, she looked around and found Harry and Draco wearing similar expressions of astonishment.  Ron was no where in sight.

 

“Where in the bloody hell are we?”

 

**~H~P~**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, any ideas on where they ended up? And why is Ron missing? It’s a little cliffie, but not too bad, I hope! As always, thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, faved or followed! Y’all make my day!


	26. The Cave of Ice

Hermione, Draco and Harry turned at the voice that echoed through the frigid cave.  Ginny stood about a metre away from them, dressed in her pyjamas.

 

“Ginny?” Harry asked as he quickly walked to where she stood shivering. 

 

“Who else would I be?” Ginny shot back, her temper obviously frazzled.  She quickly waved her wand and transformed her fuzzy green pyjamas into a pair of jeans and a warm jumper.  “Where in the hell are we?”

 

Both Harry and Draco looked at Hermione.  “Any ideas, love?” Draco asked.

 

“Why would I know?  Contrary to popular belief, I don’t know everything.  I’m just very good at retaining anything I read,” Hermione shot back as the hair on the back of her neck prickled, causing her to raise her wand and turn around.  “I feel like I’m being watched.”

 

“We should take a defensive stance,” Harry advised as he and Ginny moved towards them again. 

 

They agreed and in the centre of the room they put their backs together and each faced a different direction.  Hermione faced north, Draco east, Harry south and Ginny west.  They fell into an uneasy silence as they wondered what was going to happen to them.  After a few moments (that seemed like hours) a musical laugh resounded through the cave.  The group immediately raised their wands, looking for the source of the laugh.

 

“Interesting, my children,” a woman said as she walked through a fissure in the ice.  “Be at ease, I mean you no harm.”  She walked towards them, light shimmering from her snow white hair and ice blue dress.

 

“Wow,” Ginny said in an undertone.  “I want her designer.”

 

Hermione fought back a laugh, but she knew what Ginny meant.  The ice blue fabric shimmered as if embroidered with crystals and gave the impression of a waterfall as it draped over her long limbs.  Her hair cascaded down her back, white as the snow around her.

 

Draco studied her.  “What do you mean by interesting?” he queried.

 

The woman smiled serenely.  “You are each facing your natural cardinal direction, my child.”

 

Harry gripped is wand.  “Who are you?  Why have you abducted us?”

 

The woman chuckled, the sound reminiscent of water babbling of rocks.  “Abducted?  No, I did not abduct you.  It is destiny which brought you here to my cave.  I have been without visitors for more than a millennium.”  She smiled serenely as she gestured with her hand and an archway opened opposite of the one she walked through.  “If you will follow me, I believe that I can help provide you the answers to what you seek.”

 

The group watched in confusion as the woman walked through the archway.  “What have we got to lose?” Ginny said with a shrug as she began to walk.

 

“It could be a trap,” Harry and Draco said at the same time, earning them smirks from Ginny and Hermione.

 

“Really?  If she had wanted to harm us, I don’t believe she would have been so solicitous,” Hermione countered.  “Besides, something about her is familiar.” 

 

“Look,” Ginny interjected.  “Hermione and I have good instincts, don’t you agree Harry?  I know that you are an Auror and I can appreciate your caution, but I agree with Hermione.  If this woman wanted us dead, we would be dead.”

 

“Or we would not have our wands still,” Hermione said.  “Draco, I know how you grew up.  I know that you do not trust anyone lightly.  Trust me.  I don’t believe this is a trap.”

 

Shrugging, but keeping their wands at the ready, Harry and Draco acquiesced.  They followed Hermione and Ginny as they began to walk towards the opening again.  As they crossed through to the next room, they found it to be cavernous, but welcoming.  On the wall opposite the doorway there was a fireplace large enough to roast a wild boar, a fire burning brightly in it.  Arranged in front of it was a seating area, complete with fur rugs. 

 

That was not what drew Hermione’s attention.  That was taken up by a large black boulder in the middle of the room, with a gleaming sword stuck in it.  As she made the connection she gasped loudly.

 

“Love?  What is it?” Draco asked her, worry colouring his words.

 

Hermione just smiled as she turned to the woman.  “You are the Lady of the Lake,” she stated.

 

The woman laughed in delight.  “Ah, my child.  I knew that you would be the one who figured it out.  I am Nimue, the one you call the Lady of the Lake.”

 

“Um, Hermione?  What are you on about?” Ginny whispered.

 

“Explain to your friend, child.  Please make yourself comfortable for there is much information to share.”

 

Hermione nodded excitedly as she settled on a love seat with Draco as Harry and Ginny settled across from them.  “What do you know about King Arthur?” she began.

 

Draco and Ginny gave her blank stares, but Harry caught her message.  “Oh, _that_ Lady of the Lake.  The one who gave Arthur the Sword.”  He looked at the sword in the black boulder.  “That’s Excalibur?!” he exclaimed.

 

“Can you please tell me what you two are going on about?” Draco interrupted them.

 

“Okay,” Hermione said, her eyes bright.  “So, legend has it that back in the fifth or sixth century, there was this boy who became king of all Britain.  He does so by pulling a sword from a stone after everyone else had failed.  He expands Britain to include parts of the Roman Empire.”  She saw Draco open his mouth and she held up her hand.  “Wait, the reason this has significance is because in the legend, he is helped by Merlin.  According to the written legend, Merlin disguised Arthur’s father, Uther Pendragon, as his enemy Gorlois and Uther slept with Gorlois’ wife.  Arthur was conceived.  After Uther’s death, there was a search for his true heir and it was said that whomever could pull the sword from the stone was the true king of Britain.  Arthur was the one that pulled the sword.”

 

Draco snorted.  “That’s a bunch of rubbish.”

 

Hermione raised an eyebrow as she turned to him.  “Are you sure?  I thought about that legend my first year at Hogwart’s.  Merlin disguising Uther could have been Polyjuice and how easy would it be to charm a sword into a stone keyed only to one person?  With magic _anything_ is possible, Draco.  At least it seems that way to a Muggle or a Muggleborn when they first find out.  And you have to remember that this legend is fifteen hundred years old.  The only way for us to know for sure is to go back in time with a time-turner and find out ourselves.”

 

Draco just snorted again.  “If it were true, then we would have a record of it, Hermione,” he insisted.

 

They turned as a chuckle resounded through the room.  An old man in midnight blue robes was walking in, his long white hair and beard shining as brightly as Nimue’s did.  “That would be true my son, if I had not purged the records of that particular transgression myself.”  He walked slowly across the floor until he was standing in front of the chair directly in front of the fire.  “Forgive me, my aged bones feel the cold more than anything,” he continued as he sank into the warm seat.  Once settled, he looked at them, the twinkle in his eyes reminding each of them Dumbledore.  “Before you ask, yes, I am Merlin.”

 

“How is that even possible?” Ginny scoffed.

 

“Good, you are suspicious my child.  There was a combination of factors; I shall not bore you with the details, but as part of my last casting there was some unfinished business.  Business that only my descendents are able to complete.  My life is tied to that business and until it is completed, I am still alive.  But I digress.  To answer the question I know Miss Granger wants to ask, the whole Arthur debacle was best left to legend with no basis in fact.”  He sighed.  “It was my deepest regret.”

 

“So Lancelot and Guinevere are real?” Hermione asked.

 

He nodded.  “Yes, but the legend with them is not.  Would you like to know the true story?”

 

All of them looked at each other, each with questions burning on their tongues for the acclaimed wizards.  As one they nodded eagerly.

 

“It all began with Uther Pendragon and his best friend Gorlois of Cornwall.  They were close friends growing up in the Pendragon court.  They competed against each other in many things, including their training for knighthood.  Uther bested him in each competition, but still they remained inseparable until they both laid eyes on Igerna.  Daughter of Prince Amlawdd, she arrived in court shortly before her sixteenth birthday and was presented to the court when the Prince arrived to arrange her marriage to Uther.  It was to unite what is now Ireland with Britain.  The moment they set eyes on each other, Igerna and Uther fell into a love so strong that most believed them to be soul mates.  However, Gorlois was also enamoured with her and was determined not to let Uther win her hand.  So, he employed the services of the Very Black Witch and had her produce the strongest love potion she could manage, which he gave to Igerna.  She immediately fell in love with Gorlois and forsook Uther for him.  They ran away from the court and disappeared for twenty years.”

 

Hermione leaned for, fully engrossed in the story as he continued.  “During those twenty years, Uther sought them out, sending knight after knight out after them once he became king.  But each knight failed.  Then he sought out my services.  I was a young wizard then, barely fifty in years, but I did a foretelling for him and was able to locate the pair.  Unfortunately, that was at the beginning of the invasion of Rome and Uther had more pressing problems.  He lost the part of Gaul that he was reigning over to the Romans and another ten years passed before he could begin the search again.  By this time, my skills had been finely honed and once we were within striking distance, I gave Uther a potion that I had created which caused him to take on the appearance of Gorlois as well as the antidote to the love potion that Gorlois had given Igerna.”

 

“Is that the Polyjuice potion?” Draco asked, intrigued despite his scepticism.   

 

Merlin nodded.  “Yes, that is what it is called now.  When we reached the estate where Gorlois and Igerna lived, Uther slipped into the castle in disguise and managed to slip the antidote in her evening drink.  Once the Polyjuice potion wore off, Uther slipped into her room and the declared their love for each other and consummated that love.”

 

“What happened after that?” Ginny asked, sighing at the romance of the story.

 

Both Harry and Draco rolled their eyes at both of the women’s starry-eyed response.

 

“When Igerna discovered what Gorlois had done, she went into a rage and stormed around the castle until she found him and confronted him.  A fight ensued and somehow Gorlois ended up dead.  I do not know how, but considering that one of their children turned out to be a powerful sorceress, I would hazard a guess that she had some latent magical talent and lashed out against him magically.  With his death, Igerna and Uther returned to the court of Pendragon and raised Arthur.”

 

“I thought Arthur was an orphan or something,” Hermione said with her brow furrowed.

 

Merlin smiled.  “One of the many changes that I made to the story after this was over.  Yes, Uther died when Arthur was a lad and there were many questions in regards to his parentage, including the fact that he did not look like Uther.  On Uther’s deathbed, he made me promise to make sure that Arthur was crowned king.  I did the only thing I could think of, I borrowed Excalibur from Nimue, who I had met during my Journeyman period, and enchanted it so that only Arthur could pull it from the stone.  Thankfully, most people in the court just thought me a scholar, not a magician or the ruse would have never worked.  In the presence of a priest, I brought the sword to Uther just before his death.  He cut his hand on it and the priest said, ‘Blood of Thy blood, may only a true Pendragon master this sword.’  With a flash of light, I vanished the sword into the boulder of obsidian to await Arthur to pull it from there.”

 

Harry smiled.  “I think I understand.  When Arthur was ready to take the throne, after the death of Uther, with the priest’s words they believed the sword to be the only true thing that could indicate the real heir.”

 

“Yes,” Merlin confirmed.

 

Hermione furrowed her brow, her thoughts swirling about in her head.  “As much as I love that we’ve heard the true story of Arthur, why do I think it has something to do with why the four of us are here?” she asked sweeping her arms around to encompass the room.

 

“Ah, my child, that is because your inquisitiveness is legendary and as usual, it is correct.  Before we get to that part of the story, would anyone like any refreshments?” he responded as a tray laden with tea and biscuits floated towards them.

 

The four of them settled back and served themselves as they waited for the story to continue.    

 

**~H~P~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the information I got on Arthur and his legends is from Wikipedia. I just worked it to fit into what I wanted! Was anyone expecting Merlin to be alive and kicking?? As always, thank y’all so much for the faves, reviews and follows! They brighten my day.


	27. Merlin's Story

Once they had served themselves, the quartet settled back as Nimue joined them in a chair next to Merlin.

 

The white-haired legend graced them with a smile.  “To understand why _you_ are particularly here, it requires delving into the true Arthurian court.”  They nodded to him as he continued, each enraptured by the story.  “Once Arthur was crowned king, he was determined to take back what his father had lost.  He went on quest after quest to try to take back Gaul from the Romans.  For many years he was absent from the court, as he gained control back of the lands and during that period, I spent most of my time with Igerna and her three daughters, Elaine, Morgause and Morgan le Fey.”

 

Hermione bit her lip as she tried to keep herself from interrupting the man, wondering how much she had learned was actually applicable in this story. 

 

Merlin saw her subtle squirm.  “Ah, Miss Granger, I see you recognise at least one of those names.”

 

She nodded.  “Morgan le Fey, sir.  Legends tell that she was a powerful sorceress trying to destroy King Arthur’s court.”

 

“There is a grain of truth in that.  She was Igerna’s youngest daughter and at the time of Arthur’s conception she was fifteen years of age.  She was the most beautiful woman that I had ever laid eyes upon and was instantly smitten.  I fought my desire for her until she showed signs of magic.  I knew then that the age difference would not matter, for we were both destined to live long lives.  While Arthur was away, I schooled her in the arts of magic and my desire turned to love, much to my future regret.”

 

“Why?” Ginny asked.

 

“She truly was her father’s child.  She craved power and she was determined to destroy anything and anyone to achieve the ultimate power.  Many of what you call the “Dark Arts” comes from her time.  And I was the one that gave her the encouragement to expand her knowledge.”

 

Draco cleared his throat.  “How does that pertain for us being here?”

 

Merlin chuckled at Draco’s scathing tone.  “You will understand soon, my child.”  He turned his gaze back to the group.  “Before Morgan turned to the dark arts, however, she bore me a child; a daughter who was as beautiful as her mother.  In her honour, we chose to call her Morgana.  I was overjoyed at her birth, but my happiness lasted less than a year.  Within a year, I began to see changes within Morgan.  She became possessive and condescending towards those not born with innate magical powers.  When I saw her turning towards the dark magics, I tried to thwart her leanings, but I only succeeded in driving her away.  She disappeared in the middle of the night and I was never to see either of them again.”

 

“Oh, that is so sad,” Ginny whispered.

 

“My heart was broken for many years, but eventually I met my future wife, Talia de Gaul.  She did not possess magical powers, but she was able to enchant my heart.  Unfortunately, she died during the birth of our son, Merovious.  Twenty years passed, years in which I taught Merovious the use of his magic.  I took great care to prevent him from turning to darkness like Morgan had done.  Once my son took his leave of me, to go out into the world make his own mark, I had a love affair with Athalie of Britannia.  She bore me a daughter, Zella.  She did not have any magical talent, yet we raised her with love and a respect for the powers of light.”  He smiled at each of them in turn.  “You are all my descendants.  Mr. Potter, you are Zella’s descendant through your mother’s line.  Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley, you are descended from Merovious, by way of his daughters Atropos and Lachesis.  Finally, Miss Granger, you are descended from my lost daughter Morgana.”

 

The four of them looked at each other in shock, but predictably it was Hermione who found her voice first.  “I understand how you know about Merovious’ and Zella’s children, but I thought you never saw Morgana again?”

 

Merlin laughed.  “You are so like Morgan in that sense.  She was always questioning everything, but thanks be to the gods that you inherited my sense of the light.  I did not see them again, but once Morgana came into her powers, I was able to sense her magical signature and sent spies to keep an eye on her.  Thankfully, her mother was unable to corrupt her and after one of the more devious plots of Morgan trying to eliminate Camelot, Morgana came to her senses and broke all contact.”  He sighed.  “It hurt Morgan so deeply that she allowed Arthur to kill her.”

 

Harry scoffed but it was Draco who stilled his concerns.  “I believe him, Harry.  It is written in my own family journals about Atropos and Lachesis.  Atropos married Ophiuchi of Malfoi, from which we are descended and Lachesis married Lenois of Malfoi, who was disowned by their father Orion for his Muggle leaning tendencies.  It was never written who the parents of Atropos and Lachesis were.”

 

“That is because I bound them into an unbreakable oath with the help of Nimue.  Even then, people were both cursing and worshiping my name.  It would have done them much harm if they had been open about their parentage.  I found a nice couple that were unable to have children to act as their parents when the need arose,” Merlin explained.  He shook his head.  “I can have Nimue give you all this information at a later date, however.  There is a more pressing concern.  The evil which I banished to the void has returned.  As my descendants, you four are the only hope for banishing it for good.”

 

“The Horseman,” Harry commented.

 

“Yes.  The original Horseman came into power after the stories of my supposed death spread through Britain.  While the stories were a bit premature, I was at the end of my life and my power was waning.   I could only banish them to the void, but you my children are still young in your powers and will be able to destroy them.”

 

As always, Hermione’s mind was categorising the facts and a smile grew on her face.  “Our dreams.  We each saw one of the original Horsemen and our final dream showed them being destroyed by a shaman.”

 

“Yes.  They are vulnerable to the forces of nature.”

 

“But Elemental magic disappeared a millennium ago,” Draco interjected.

 

“Disappeared, yes.  Gone, no.  It became dormant as witches and wizards became to depend on their wands more and more.  However, you my children are my descendants and as such, you will be able to master the art and bring it back to the world again.”  He stood.  “It is late and you must be tired.  I know that I have given you a lot of information to process, so I believe it is time to retire for the night.  Nimue will show you to your sleeping accommodations.”

 

“What about our family?  Our friends.  They will be expecting us.”

 

Nimue smiled as she rose as well.  “Time does not exist in this place.  When you leave here, you will go back to the exact time that you left,” she explained.  “Please follow me you to your suite of rooms.”

 

The four of them nodded and feeling as if they were in a dream followed her into yet another doorway that appeared.

 

**H~P**

 

The suite of rooms that Nimue guided them to included two large bedrooms and two fully appointed baths.  A comfortable sitting room sat between the two suites.  Without a word, they all sat in the middle of that room.  “Are we all hallucinating?” Hermione finally asked.  

 

Ginny giggled while Harry and Draco let out identical snorts.  “I doubt that we have all ingested something which causes mass hallucinations.  However, I do agree.  This is very, very strange.  Mad, really.”

 

Ginny shrugged.  “I think it would be brilliant if we were all descended of Merlin and Draco, you agreed with the man.  You yourself know some of your ancestry.  You can corroborate some of the story that he told us.”

 

Draco nodded.

 

Harry pursed his lips.  “I think we should act as if what he was telling us is real.  We already know about the Horsemen.  There have been stories circulating in the Muggle world about odd plagues that have devastated small towns or villages.  That in itself is strange.”

 

“What do you know of Elemental Magic?” Hermione asked.

 

Surprisingly, it was Ginny who responded.  “It is the magic to control the Elements themselves.  You can affect nature and literally change the world.”

 

“We have seen through our dreams how to use it effectively against the powers of the Horsemen, but I am still wondering how the Horsemen came into play?  Why Blaise?  Why were those four chosen to wreak havoc on the world?  Have we not been through enough trying to take down Voldemort?” Hermione continued.

 

Harry snorted.  “Merlin would probably say something about destiny or some load of rubbish.  Why me?”

 

Draco rolled his eyes.  “Maybe because we are the strongest wizards of our generation?  That explains why we are as strong magically as we are.”

 

Harry began to laugh as a quote came to his head.  “With great power comes great responsibility.”

 

Hermione caught his reference and began to laugh uncontrollably, tears running down her face.  Draco and Ginny just looked at each other in confusion and building frustration as the other two could not get themselves under control.

 

“Would you mind explaining what you are laughing at?” Ginny ground out.

 

Harry managed to control himself.   “It is from a film.  _Spiderman_.”

 

“I don’t get it,” Draco said with a shrug.

 

Hermione managed to bring her laughter down to a giggle.  “Don’t worry.  Once we get back, I’ll let you watch it, Draco.  Then you will understand.”  She sighed.  “I think we all need to get some rest.  I don’t believe that we are in any danger.”

 

“All right.  We will regroup in the morning,” Harry agreed as he stood and began to make his way to the bedroom on the right hand side of the room.

 

Glancing at each other, Hermione and Draco moved to the left and soon were fast asleep in the comfortable bed.

 

**H~P**

 

When they awoke in the morning (at least what they assumed was morning), the group found a buffet style breakfast set out for them in the sitting room.  There was a wide selection of fruits and meats along with porridge and different type of eggs.  Famished, they fell upon the feast and as soon as they had eaten their fill, they settled comfortably on the chairs.

 

“So….” Ginny began.

 

“Do you suppose he still has information to give us?” Harry finished for her.

 

Both Hermione and Draco shrugged.  “I would assume that is the reason we are still here instead of back in England.  Merlin did leave me wanting more information.  He is saying that we are going to be able to control the elements and I would assume that we are going to have to learn how to do that,” Hermione surmised, trying not to squeal in excitement. 

 

“Why am I not surprised that you are excited to learn, love?” Draco drawled.  “I do agree.  This is an interesting adventure that we have found ourselves in.”

 

“Indeed it is, Mr. Malfoy,” Nimue said from the doorway.  “I am pleased to see that you call are looking much more refreshed and ready to hear the last part of Merlin’s story.”

 

They all started at her abrupt appearance and jumped up.

 

“Follow me, please and we will return to the story,” she said as she gracefully turned.

 

“Really,” Ginny said in an undertone to Hermione.  “I want to find out who designs her clothes.  That dress is fabulous!”

 

Hermione nodded, even though Ginny was much more of a girly-girl than she was.  Nimue’s dress was a deep blue, the colour of the deep ocean.   It was elegant in its simplicity, reminding Hermione of a dress she would see at a Renaissance fair, with silver rope accenting her natural waist.  As she walked, they could see that she had silver slippers on her feet that matched the cord around her waist. 

 

As they walked through the ice-walled corridors, the group wondered how the ice showed no sign of melting, even though the temperatures were pleasant.  They assumed that it was a sign of the magic that kept the place intact.  When they walked into the room they had been in the previous day.  Merlin was already there, sipping on a steaming cup of tea, his robes of green rather than blue.

 

“Ah, my children.  I trust that your rest was beneficial?”  They nodded and he continued, “I believe when we stopped yesterday, we were discussing elemental magic.  I believe that we shall start there.  What do you know about elemental magic?”

 

“Not much,” Ginny began.  “It is not taught even in history.”

 

“With Binns teaching history?” Draco muttered.  “Even if he taught it, we were all asleep.”

 

Harry snickered at the wry comment, which caused Hermione to shoot him a glare.  “Well, _I_ was paying attention and he never mentioned it.  Really, he was overly concerned with the goblin revolution!”

 

“Good, then.  I will have no misconceptions to correct.  Plain and simple, elemental magic is just what it sounds like.  It is the innate ability to control the natural elements.  Now, contrary to popular belief, no one can control more than one element.”

 

“What determines what element you can control?” Hermione asked.

 

“There is not one specific factor that determines it, rather a combination.  Partially, it is due to your family, but other factors depend on when you were born.  Whether or not elemental magic comes back into the general Wizarding population depends on your actions.  Your magic will have to be activated; right now it is lying dormant.  If you survive the upcoming fight, then you will pass the active genes on to your children and so-on and so-forth.”

 

Mentioning the trials that lay ahead was like a bucket of water crashing over their head.

 

“What can you tell us of the Horsemen?  We obviously know that there are four of them and we have a good idea of _who_ they are, but why are they in existence?  How was this allowed to come back into the world?”

 

Merlin sighed.  “The wizards who were the original Horsemen documented their research into tapping into the evil powers.  My surmise is that the writings found their way into the hands of someone who was able to translate it.”  Sadness marked his face.  “These new Horsemen must have no morals.”

 

“Why?” Harry asked.

 

“I discovered millennia ago that in order to harness those powers, it requires a blood sacrifice.”

 

Draco, who knew more than the rest of them about blood sacrifices, felt ice settle in his heart.  “What kind of blood sacrifice?” he forced out.

 

Merlin looked at him sadly.  “The sacrifice was to be someone related to them.”

 

Hermione gripped his hand and she understood what Merlin was saying.  She could feel Draco losing control and quickly cast a containment shield around him, feeling the magic wave hit them within seconds.  “Draco.  Fight it down.  You have to calm down,” she yelled as she positioned herself in front of him, trying to get him to focus.  When she realised that he was locked inside of himself in pain, she finally took the only actions she could.  “ _Stupefy_.”  Once he was unconscious, she turned to Merlin, the air around her crackling with anger.  “What in the bloody hell did you think you were doing?” she yelled at the white-haired main.  “You know us, you know who the _bloody_ Horsemen are and you know that one of them is his ex-wife, who by chance kidnapped his only son?  Are you completely mental?

 

Merlin backed a step away from her as she seethed in anger.  “My apologies, Miss Granger.  I was not thinking.  Although, I believe he should know that his son is safe.  The woman was not able to hurt him.  Instead, she sacrificed herself, not knowing the implications to what she was doing.”

 

Hermione’s anger receded a bit.  “You might want to back up again.  Hopefully, I can get through to him before his anguish turns on himself and kills him.”  She quickly knelt beside him and muttered the counter spell. 

 

Draco awoke, anguish lining his face.  “Just kill me, please,” he murmured.

 

“Draco,” Hermione said as softly.  “Scorpius is fine.  Let Merlin continue his story.”

 

“Indeed, Mr. Malfoy.  I should have phrased the information better.  There were two options in order to make the spell work.  The other three took the easy and less binding option.  They sacrificed someone close to them to gain control of the powers.  Miss Greengrass, however, used her own blood and by doing that she sealed herself into a far different fate.  She will be more powerful, but she will not be tainted by evil.”

 

Draco swallowed hard.  “I don’t believe you.”

 

Merlin shook his head and waved his hand over a piece of ice, which became crystal clear.  Within seconds, an image appeared in the ice of Scorpius playing in a room full of to toys.  “Miss Greengrass managed to convince Miss Parkinson to spirit her child away to safety.  The child is safe for now, but he will not be entirely safe until you defeat the Horsemen.”

 

Hermione glared at Merlin.  “What did you mean that she sacrificed herself, not knowing the implications?”

 

Merlin sighed.  “She will become the Horseman that she embodies.”

 

“And that means?” Harry broke in, even his patience being tested at having to drawn answers of the wizard.

 

“She is death.  The horseman that she embodies is that of death.  She will literally have the power to kill whomever she wants to with a thought.”

 

“Well, that is comforting,” Ginny said dryly. 

 

Merlin shrugged.  “Actually, it may be.  If Miss Greengrass becomes the embodiment of death, then that means she is neutral in the fight between good and evil.  Death reigns equally over each side.”  He sighed.  “I do not know this for sure, but that is my supposition.”

 

“So how are we supposed to defeat them?  How do we unlock our powers?”

 

Merlin waved his wand and a faded green book shimmered into existence in front of him.  “This book is priceless.  Never let it out of your sight and if you do have to leave it, ensure that no one, not even me, will be able to break the wards on it.”  He smirked at their stunned faced.  “This is all of the notes I have taken over the last fifteen-hundred years in regards to the Horsemen and a guide to using elemental magic.”

 

Hermione felt the air rush out of her chest and the artefact that he was giving them.  She gingerly rose and accepted the tome from him.  “We will guard it with our lives if necessary,” she said solemnly. 

 

“I know you will,” he said before settling back into his chair.  “Our time together has come to an end my children.  Nimue will make sure that you are returned to your home.  I am glad to have met my descendents of the light.  I am proud of what you have accomplished during your young lives.  Remember this, live well.  Always find the light and never stray to the dark.”

 

The group nodded solemnly as Nimue appeared to escort them back to the first room they had appeared in, for their return home.

**~H~P~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it me or does Merlin remind you of Dumbledore? Thanks to everyone for the faves, follows and reviews! They make my day.


	28. Was that a dream?

One moment they were looking at the icy walls of a cave and the next they were looking at the familiar walls of Grimmauld Place sometime around midnight.  As they looked at each other, in varying degrees of disbelief, Hermione looked down at the worn, hand-bound book she was still holding.  “It wasn’t a dream,” she muttered.

 

“Are you sure?  It certainly felt like a nightmare to me,” Draco snorted.

 

Hermione shook her head as she opened the book gingerly, afraid that it would be too fragile to handle, but she knew that she was just being alarmist.  Merlin had spelled it to be impervious to any wear and tear.  Eagerly, she began to read and within a few seconds, she was gasping.

 

“What?  What is it?” Harry asked her urgently.

 

“It says here that to activate our elemental powers, we must complete the ritual during a total lunar eclipse.”

 

“So?” Draco said.

 

“That’s tonight!  We are going to have no time to study, plan, or figure out how in the bloody hell we are supposed to control these powers.”

 

Ginny snickered.  “Really, Hermione.  Sometimes you can be too rigid.  We’ll complete the ritual and I’m sure between the four of us, we can figure it out.”

 

Draco and Harry chuckled once they realized that she was panicking over the loss of time to study, but Harry knew that it was one thing that kept her safe.  “Mione, really.  I know that you always feel better having a plan before you do anything, but embrace your inner Gryffindor and just go with the flow.  Between Draco’s library and the library here, we will be able to put our hands on any information that we need.”

 

Draco nodded as he draped his arm across her shoulders.  “Yes, love.  Why don’t you go through the book today and tell us if there is anything we need specifically for the ritual.”

 

Hermione breathed deeply.  “All right, I can do that.  Please don’t interrupt me,” she said as she turned and headed to the library.

 

Draco just looked at Harry and Ginny, who both held up their hands.  “You are seeing her going into full Hermione-study mode,” Harry said simply.  “For the love of Merlin…wow, it’s very strange to say that phrase now…don’t interrupt her unless you want to have your bollocks hexed off.”

 

Draco remembered hearing her berate Harry and Ron during their school years and decided to take the advice to heart.  “In that case, I believe I’ll go scour my library for any books pertaining to elemental magic.”  He turned to leave, but stopped briefly.  “Please make sure that you make her eat.”

 

Ginny laughed.  “That is something that we are used to doing.  We’ll make sure that she takes regular breaks as well.  Meet back here around six tonight?”

 

With a nod, Draco spun on his heel and was gone with a soft pop.

 

**H~P**

 

Hermione yawned and stretched, feeling her back pop in several places as she finally changed positions from being hunched over a series of books.  On the bright side, she discovered that they needed nothing more than candles and something that represented the elements.  That in itself was fairly easy; she knew that they should have candles that represented each element along with the element itself, but she was not sure what she could use to represent air. 

 

A knock on the door interrupted her stretching and she looked up to see Ginny carrying a tray of food.  “Oh, good.  You have already decided on a break,” the red-head said as she settled the tray on a table.

 

“I needed to stretch and I just realised that I’m famished,” Hermione responded.

 

Ginny laughed.  “I had a feeling that it was just about time for that.”

 

“Where are the guys?” Hermione asked before she tucked into the bowl of stew that Ginny had brought in.

 

“Harry is off to the Auror’s office to update his team on what you guys found in South Africa.  Draco is scouring his library for any books on elemental magic.  What have you found?”

 

Hermione bought time by eating a couple more bites of the stew before she answered.  “It looks as if the ritual in itself is simple.  Just a chant while we are standing on a Celtic Compass Rose, outdoors of course, and we will need to have something that represents each element.  Water, earth and fire are easy, but what can we use to represent air?”

 

“I don’t know.  This isn’t magic that has been practiced in a thousand years.”

 

They lapsed into silence as Hermione finished the food.   Hermione quickly waved her wand and sent the dirty bowl and utensils to the kitchen with a sigh.  “Oh well.  Back to the books now.  Thanks for making sure I eat, Gin.”

 

Ginny laughed.  “Who better than me to keep you in line?  Harry and Ron were always too terrified of you to make sure you took care of yourself.”

 

Hermione laughed along with her.  “True,” she said as she turned her attention back to the books in front of her.

 

Ginny just giggled as she made her way out of the library and back to the kitchen.

 

Ginny puttered around the kitchen for a few hours, before she began to yawn.  Realising that it was close to sunrise, she made her way back to the library to see if she could convince Hermione to sleep for a few hours, but found the witch fast asleep, her head pillowed on her hair.

 

Shaking her head, she quickly roused her to get some sleep in a real bed, knowing that a few hours would probably bring some sort of revelation from Hermione.

 

Hermione opened her eyes briefly as she felt Ginny shaking her awake.  “Hermione, go to bed.  The books will still be here when you wake up.”

 

Hermione just yawned and without an argument found her way to bed.

 

**H~P**

 

Draco looked at the clock as he awoke from his sleep.  Noticing that he had a few hours before meeting the rest of the group, he decided to indulge in a long shower before grabbing the books that he had gathered from the extensive Malfoy library.  He was more than a little surprised at the sheer amount of books that actually dealt with Elemental Magic.  He also gathered a few essentials, knowing that they would be needed to represent the elements.

 

Once he was ready, he went to the Floo and through the powder in before announcing “Grimmauld Place”.   A few dizzying seconds later, he was calmly brushing the ash off his robes.

 

“Draco!” Hermione squealed. 

 

He turned to her, an eyebrow raised.  “Hello,” he said cautiously as he eyed the seemingly hyper witch. 

 

“I am so glad that you are here.  The sunset is in less than an hour and there is so much to do!”

 

“Hermione?  Why are you so hyper?  Have you taken an energy potion?”

 

Hermione giggled.  “Well, yeah.  I was too tired when I got up from my nap and I knew that I had to be well rested and coherent for the ritual, so I drank one.”  His eyebrow raised and she flushed.  “All right, I had three energy potions.  In my defence the first two really didn’t do anything for me.”

 

 _Merlin help me,_ Draco thought as he signed.  “Did you think that maybe that was because it takes a bit of time for them to work?  No matter, it will wear down before the ceremony.  How did you get on researching the ritual?”

 

Hermione bounced on her toes as she began to ramble at warp speed.  “Well….It seems really simple, but I’m not sure what we can do to represent our elements when we cast.  The only one that I’m having trouble with is Air.  Really?  What can represent air?  A feather?”

 

Draco held his hands out in front of him.  “Slow down!  I managed to do some research in my library.  The Malfoy’s seemingly have always been drawn to elemental magic.  I have the representations covered.  Anything else?”

 

“There is a cantrip and we do need to be outside, surrounded by the elements if possible,” Hermione chattered on.  “I’ve already filled in Ginny and Harry, so let me tell you what we need to do.”

 

Draco just shook his head as he carefully steered her towards the kitchen, intent on making some camomile tea to calm her down as she told him about the ritual.

 

An hour later, they were all gathered in kitchen.  Draco looked around at them.  “All right.  First, we all need to change into these robes,” he said pulling them out of a bag that he had brought with him.  “From my reading it is best to do rituals in natural, non-dyed fabrics.  I also brought these pieces of jewellery to represent the elements and our cardinal direction.”  He smiled.  “For Hermione, representative of the north and Earth, according to your birth sign, an emerald necklace.”

 

Hermione accepted the pendant necklace gingerly, staring in awe at the flawless cabochon emerald set in a simple platinum setting.  As she clasped it behind her neck, she saw a flash of heat in Draco’s eyes from seeing her wear his house colour.

 

“For Ginny, representative of the west and Water, a blue topaz necklace.”

 

Ginny was in as much awe as Hermione over the gem.  It was round cut, set in silver with ornate pattern of s’s. 

 

“For Potter, representative of the south and Fire, a red garnet ring,” Draco continued as he handed Harry the simple ring set in silver.  “And finally, for me, representative of the east and Air, an Imperial topaz ring.”

 

Hermione nodded, much calmer after two cups of tea.  “We need to go outside, under the light of the full moon.”

 

As they stepped outside, they immediately found a problem.  There was no where in the garden of Grimmauld Place that the moon shone fully upon.  Draco shook his head.  “This won’t work.  Everyone take hold of my arms, I’ll Apparate us to the Malfoy estate.”

 

Once they were settled in the middle of an open field, Hermione nodded.  “Much, much better.”  She looked at everyone.  “Please stand in a circle in your cardinal direction, please.  Once we are situated, we can begin.”

 

Quickly, they sorted themselves out and with a nod from Hermione, they began to chant.  “We call upon the Elements.”

 

“Earth.  _Terra_ ,” Hermione said calmly as she conjured a large rock.

 

“Air.  _Aer,_ ” Draco continued as he whipped up a wind around them.

 

“Fire.  _Ignis,_ ” Harry responded as a column of flame rose up in the middle of the circle.

 

“Water.  _Aqua,_ Ginny said clearly as water joined the fire in the centre of the circle.

 

“Spirit.  _Spiritus,_ ” they said together.  “As the descendants of Merlin, our birthright is clear.  To harness our power to protect those who are dear.”

 

Hermione raised her eyes to the moon, its glow reflecting in her eyes.  “ _Protego populus, ego recipero vox orbis terrarium.”_

 

Draco followed her example and raised his eyes.  “ _Protego populus, ego recipero box Aer._ ”

 

Harry continued, “ _Protego populus, ego recipero box Incendia._ ”

 

Ginny’s voice rang out, “ _Protego populus, ego recipero box aequora.”_

 

They concluded together, “ _Protego populus, nos mos concateno in Phasmatis!_ We call upon the Elements!  Grant us the power of protection against the dark.  As we will it, so mote it be.”

 

A wild wind began to swirl around them, starting from the north until each of them was caught in a mini-whirlwind.  The moon’s light seemed to seep into the wind, turning it a blind bright white before exploding, cocooning each in a different colour.  Hermione was surrounded by green, Draco in silver, Ginny in blue and Harry in red.  Time seemed to standstill until the winds stopped, magic making the air hum with power.

 

As they blinked to clear the stars out of their eyes, Draco’s voice called out ironically.  “I hope that worked.  If it didn’t, we are screwed as the amount of power that has been laid at our feet is sure to bring attention upon us.”

 

The group laughed as they sank to the ground, exhausted.

 

**H~P**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! The long awaited explanation of why I changed Ginny’s birthday. If I hadn’t, she would have had a fire sign as well and then, well that wouldn’t have worked! As always, this is only beta’d by myself, so if you see any mistakes, let me know and I will correct them! Thanks for all the faves, follows and reviews. They really make my day!
> 
> Okay, Translations:
> 
> Terra = Earth  
> Aer = Air  
> Ignis = Fire  
> Aqua = Water  
> Spiritus = Spirit
> 
> Protego populus, ego recipero vox orbis terrarium = To protect the people, I accept the power of the Earth.  
> Protego populus, ego recipero vox Aer = To protect the people, I accept the power of the Air.  
> Protego populus, ego recipero vox Incendia = To protect the people, I accept the power of the Fire.  
> Protego populus, ego recipero vox aequora = To protect the people, I accept the power of the Water.  
> Protego populus, nos mos concateno in Phasmatis = To protect the people, we will bind together in the Spirit.
> 
> I apologize to anyone who actually speaks Latin for any grammatical errors. I used an online Latin translator.


	29. Learning the Ropes

Once they had recovered enough strength, the group made their way into Malfoy Manor to find Lucius and Narcissa waiting for them in the library.

 

“So,” Lucius began.  “I am to assume that there was a reason to the four of you lighting the magical skies up with enough energy to draw a multitude of creatures here.  Please assure me that this was all in hopes of finding Scorpius.”

 

Draco winced as Hermione glared at him.

 

“You didn’t tell them?” she said lowly.

 

“Tell us what, dear?” Narcissa asked pleasantly as she pinned Draco with a glare.

 

Draco cleared his throat nervously.  “We found out where Scorpius is, and he is safe.”  As Lucius turned his glare to him, Draco hurriedly told them of their time with Merlin and finding out that they had to learn to control their elements to defeat Blaise and company.  He smirked when he left his parents speechless. 

 

Finally, Lucius found his voice.  “You mean the family stories that the Malfoy’s are related to Merlin are _actually_ true?”

 

Draco raised an eyebrow.  “You doubted the family lore?” he said dryly. 

 

Lucius smirked in return.  “It would not be the first time our history has been slightly embellished.”

 

“Dear?” Narcissa interrupted.  “If the stories about Merlin are true, then perhaps we should provide him with the books.”

 

Draco furrowed his brow as the rest of them shared confused glances.  “What books?” he finally asked.

 

Lucius sighed.  “There are a few one of-a-kind tomes that have been passed down in the family from our very existence.   However, no one has been able to read them.  It is as if they are keyed to a specific person.”

 

Hermione’s eyes lit up.  “You believe them to be books on elemental magic, correct?”

 

“Astute as always.  Yes.  I do not know if they will open for anyone but a Malfoy, but feel free to try,” Lucius responded as he quickly Accio’d the books.  They landed softly on the table in the middle of a seating area.

 

Draco and Hermione sat on the loveseat directly in front of the tables, while Harry and Ginny settled in the chairs that sat on either side.  Draco reached for the books, but withdrew his hands before casting a revealing spell on them to ensure that there were no traps built in.

 

Harry raised an eyebrow.  “Doubt books in your own library?”

 

Draco just shrugged.  “With my family’s history, one can never be too careful, Potter,” he retorted with a smirk.  “They seem clean.”

 

“Well, get on with it then!” Hermione insisted, quivering with anticipation.

Harry and Ginny laughed at her excitement.  “You had better get on with it, Draco,” Ginny said.  “She’s liable to hex you if don’t hurry up.”

 

Draco just nodded.  He understood Hermione’s feelings; they matched his own.  Quickly, he laid his wand hand on the book and waited.  Nothing happened.  He tried to open the book to no avail.  “I don’t understand,” he muttered.

 

“Perhaps you need to try to open it with your elemental powers, Draco,” Hermione suggested.

 

“Sure, I know how to do that,” he responded dryly.

 

“Draco, dear?” Narcissa interrupted.  “Why don’t you just follow what feels right.  You were born into these powers, so it would stand to reason that some part of you knows what to do.”

 

Hermione laid her hand on Draco’s knee.  “Just breathe.  Close your eyes and imagine what the wind would feel like.”  Draco turned to her, an eyebrow raised.  “What?” she responded.  “I figured that it would be like meditating.  Do you have a better idea?”

 

He just rolled is eyes as Harry and Ginny began to cough to cover their laughs.  “Really, Malfoy,” Harry said.  “You should listen to her.  Her ideas may not always be logical, but I’ve learned that they usually work out.”

 

Ginny nodded.  “He’s right, Draco.  You might was well try it.”

 

Draco drew a deep breath and closed his eyes in concentration.  He brought forth the images of the wind swirling around him and then imagined the wind touching the book and picking it up.  At the gasps in the room, he opened in eyes to find the book hovering over the table. 

 

“Good, son!” Lucius praised.  “I suggest you try to open it with the wind.”

 

Draco nodded and pictured the book opening and watched as it wobbled in the air and then thudded back down to the table.  He shook his head in frustration, but he could almost feel the wheels turning in Hermione’s head.  “What idea do you have now?” he asked reluctantly.

 

“Maybe it will take all of us to open it?  It seemed as if it wanted to open, but there was just not enough power behind it.”

 

Ginny shuddered behind her at the words.  “Beware of things where you can’t see where they keep their brain,” she muttered in remembrance. 

 

Lucius, Narcissa and Draco looked at her in confusion. 

 

Ginny sighed and explained, “I was possessed by Tom Riddle my first year by the book you slipped into my cauldron, Mr. Malfoy.”  If her voice had a slight edge to it, everyone ignored it.  “My father issued the warning about not being able to see where something keeps it brain after that.”

 

“I do apologise, Miss Weasley.  I cannot say that the person I was would do anything different, but I have changed and am horrified at what I have done.”

 

Ginny smiled.  “Thank you, Mr. Malfoy.  I appreciate that.”

 

Harry pursed his lips, but let the conversation slid over him, determined not to let the past affect the present.  Thinking back to the problem of the books, he looked at the people surrounding him before clearing his throat.  “Ahem.  I suggest that if we are all going to attempt to open the books using our powers that we move outside.  I do not really believe that Lord and Lady Malfoy want anything to happen to the interior of the Manor.  Whilst air is fairly tame, I am not sure if I am able to call fire without such an incident.”

 

Draco looked at Harry in amazement at the declaration that he didn’t believe that he could do something.  Shaking his head he said, “I agree.  We can simply cast a protection circle outside to cloak our magics from anything that would be able to sense them.”

 

“That would be most advisable, Draco,” Narcissa agreed.  “If someone is able to sense the elemental magics, then it would alert Mr. Zabini that something is amiss.  I am assuming that you do have a plan to catch the man.”

 

The four of them looked at one another and Narcissa rolled her eyes.  “Dear Merlin, you don’t have a plan yet.  How in the name of all that is magical did you manage to defeat the Dark Lord, Potter?”

 

Hermione bristled and straightened her shoulders.  “Narcissa, we just learned about these powers less than 48 hours ago.  We need to see what we are capable of before we can plan accordingly,” she said precisely before turning and walking out the door.

 

Narcissa winced as the younger woman walked out.   “Oh dear.  I put my foot in it, didn’t I?”

 

Harry nodded.  “Yes, ma’am.  You see, Hermione is the one who always made the plans.  Without her, Tom Riddle would be ruling the world.”  He looked at the door Hermione had walked out of.  “We had better follow her.  Draco, I do believe that you are in for a sleepless night.  If I know her, we’ll have a fresh battle plan by the time the sun rises tomorrow morning.”

 

Draco sighed as the three of them rose from the couch.  “Somehow I believe you are correct, Potter.”  He glanced at his parents.  “Mum, Father, we will return.”

 

“Don’t destroy the gardens, Draco,” Lucius cautioned as the group made their way out the Manor.

 

**H~P**

 

Following Hermione’s meditative technique, they did find that calling the elements was indeed instinctual.  It was the control that was giving them the problems.  By sunset, they were ready to drop in exhaustion.

 

“I want to try a fireball again,” Harry said stubbornly.

 

“Are you sure,” Hermione asked as she sagged to the ground, dripping sweat.

 

“Yes,” Harry responded as he concentrated on his hands, a large ball of fire appearing there.  Confidently, he through it at a cropping of rocks, only to have it bounce off and land in a large bush of silver-coloured roses.

 

Draco screamed like a little girl in panic.  “No!”

 

He didn’t have to worry about the fire spreading as Ginny promptly dumped a waterfall’s worth of water over them, only to hear Draco moan as if in pain.

 

“What’s wrong, Draco?” Hermione asked. 

 

“Mummy is going to murder me in my sleep,” he whimpered.

 

“Why?”

 

Draco turned incredulous eyes toward her.  “Those are the most prized roses in Britain, hell even on the Continent.  Do you know how rare those roses are?  There is only one other person in the world that has managed to breed actual silver roses.  Most only achieve a lavender colour, not actual silver.  Even the Dark Lord knew that if anything happened to those roses, Mum would kill him in an instant.  It took her twenty years to achieve this.”  He dropped down to the ground.  “Now, thanks to the bumbling boy wonder, all of her hard work is gone.  I’m dead.  I knew it was a bad idea to practice here,” he muttered.

 

“Maybe we can fix them?” Harry said slowly, raising his wand.

 

“Don’t even think about it, Potter,” Draco growled.

 

Hermione pursed her lips in thought before walking towards the roses and placing both hands on the carefully maintained soil.  Closing her eyes, she thought as hard as she could.   _Please fix the roses.  Please fix the roses._   She felt power moving up through her right hand, traversing across her chest and down out of her left hand.  She kept up her mental chant until she heard gasps behind her.  Opening her eyes, she found that the roses were back to their pristine state and settled back onto the grass.

 

“Wicked,” Ginny whispered.  “That was…beyond words.  Trust Hermione to learn how to control her powers first.”

 

Hermione shrugged and smiled.  “It was all about intent.  I just wanted to heal the roses.”

 

Ginny gasped.  “That’s it!  Intent is the key to control.  I think I know how to open the books.”  She smiled, “ _Accio_ Malfoy book on elemental magic.”  In a minute she had the book in her hands and she set it in front of her.  “Okay, everyone take their cardinal direction and as one we are going to surround the book with our elements.  Think of opening the book as you do this,” she instructed.

 

Draco shrugged, willing to try anything at this point and looked at the book.  “I’m willing to try.  On three?”

 

Ginny smiled.  “Three, two, one, go!”

 

A breath of air flew through the gardens, followed by a trail of fire, a trail of water and a cloud of dust.  Against all odds, they seemed to meld together in a whirlwind around the book.  As the group of them watched in amazement, the energy flew into the book and it opened with a flash of light.

 

No one moved.  Finally, Hermione couldn’t stand it and she walked over to the book.  Gingerly, she began to read the pages.  She only skimmed a few pages before realising exactly what she had in her hand.  “Oh, this is more than a guide on elemental magic.  It’s a book on the weaknesses of the Horsemen!”

 

Her words caused a rush of hope to rise in their chests, knowing that they now had the tool that they needed to stop the destruction of the world.

 

**~H~P~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this isn’t a lot about them controlling their powers, but trust me chapters 31 and 33 will make up for that. I have to admit, I love hearing Draco whine about the roses. That is my favorite part of this chapter! As always, thank you for the faves, follows and reviews! They really make my day.


	30. A Plan Takes Shape

After Hermione’s stunning pronouncement, she refused to say anything else, no matter how much they asked.  “Look,” she finally said in exasperation.  “We’re exhausted and I for one am _starving_.  I didn’t say that I wouldn’t tell you anything, I just want a chance to eat and then actually read this book to we will know what we are going up against.  Sound good?”

 

Ginny nodded.  “I’m starving, too.”

 

“Me, three,” Harry said.

 

Draco shrugged.  “I’m sure the Elves will make us something.  How long do you need to read the book?”

 

Hermione smiled.  “A couple of hours at least.”

 

Draco nodded.  “Willa!” he called out.

 

The little Elf popped in immediately.  “How can Willa serve you, Master Draco?”

 

“We are very hungry, Willa.  Can you please have dinner served in the small dining room?”

 

She nodded enthusiastically.  “Of course,” she assured them as she disappeared.

 

As a group, they took a deep breath and began the long walk back to the Manor.

 

**H~P**

 

After they ate, the group retired to the library to allow Hermione time to study the book.  Harry and Ginny recognized the look in her eye.  They termed it “revision mode”.  She sat at one of the tables in the library, surrounded by parchment and books, with a quill in hand as she took notes as she read. 

 

Draco looked around, wondering if he should help her, but was stalled by a hand on his arm.  He turned to look at Ginny who just shook her head.  “Don’t bother her.  It will only distract her.”

 

Sighing, he nodded and moved to the other side of the library.  “Anyone up for a game of chess?” he asked.

 

“Sure,” Harry responded as he settled across the table.  He took white, while Draco took black.  “I’m not as good as Ron, but hopefully I can give you a game.” 

 

“May I look around?” Ginny asked.  While she wasn’t a bookworm like Hermione, she did enjoy a good book.

 

“Sure,” Draco responded as he instructed is pawn to move.  “There is a section of Muggle novels two shelves over.  You might find them interesting.”

 

Ginny raised an eyebrow.  “Muggle?”

 

“Yes.  You might try something by the Brother’s Grimm or even the novel by Mary Shelley.  I have found both of those authors to be quite enjoyable.”

 

Pursing her lips, Ginny followed his directions and found a book entitled _Grimm’s Fairy Stories._ Remembering her conversation with Hermione about how Muggles explained magic with tales for children, she grabbed the book and settled down into a comfortable chair to read.

 

Several hours later, Ginny was disgusted by the things she had read.  “Really?  These are what parents read to their children?  That is disturbing,” she muttered.

 

“You’re reading the original versions.  Those are not read to children today,” Hermione said, startling Ginny.

 

“How did you sneak up on me?” Ginny exclaimed, putting her hand over her heart.

 

“You were intrigued.  Which story were you reading?” Hermione said as she settled onto the couch next to her. 

 

“Cinderella.  It was just disturbing.”

 

Hermione grinned.  “Imagine how I felt when I first read them during summer break after my first year at Hogwarts.  Before this, the tale of Cinderella was the ultimate fairy tale to me.  I mean, the poor put upon girl ends up with her Prince.  They made it into an animated film.  No where in that film do they depict what happens to the evil stepsisters.”

 

“Why would someone write something like this?”

 

“Cautionary tales.  When these stories were passed down verbally, they were intended to kept children from being bad.  Do you think you would have ever done something like the stepsisters if you knew the consequences would be?  Would you be willing to cut off parts of your feet to fit into a pair of slippers?  Would you want your eyes plucked out by birds for being evil and cruel?  The lesson was that if you were pious and good, then you would be rewarded.”

 

Ginny shuddered.  “It still is disturbing.”

 

“Yes.  That is the point.”

 

Ginny closed the book, and looked at Hermione.  “You’ve finished the book, correct?”

 

“Yes, and I have some ideas that I would like to discuss with the group.  Once Draco gets done beating Harry at chess that is.  It should only be a few more moments.  Draco had Harry’s Queen in check when I walked over here.”

 

“Well, Potter.  You lost again.  Do you want another rematch?” Draco said smugly.

 

“No rematch,” Hermione said as she stood, pulling Ginny along with her.  “I found out some interesting information.”

 

Draco and Harry quickly cleared the chess board off the table and gestured for them to sit.  “Well?” Harry said as the silence stretched on.

 

“Well, there are two different kinds of Horsemen.  Ones who are called and ones that become them voluntarily,” Hermione began.

 

“What is the difference?” Draco interjected.

 

“The ones that are called are called because the world is out of balance.  They only retain their powers for a short period, until the balance is restored.  From what I could tell, this was the natural order of the world.  A good example of this was the Black Death in medieval Europe.  The rightful Horsemen are never called all together.  There are never more than two in existence at a time.  One of those is always Death.”

 

“Why Death?” Harry asked, thinking of his own experiences with mortality.

 

“Because death is a natural part of life, right Hermione?” Ginny responded. 

 

“Yes.  You can’t escape Death.  The Death Horseman is not evil, per se; he or she is just there to help people move on.  From my reading it looks like that Death is responsible for helping those that are lingering on the edge of death cross over or move on.  Death just offers the person a choice.  They can choose to decline and live out the rest of their lives, no matter how long or short that is, or choose to move on at that point.”

 

“So what about the other Horsemen, the ones that choose to be,” Draco said.

 

“They are truly evil.  This incarnation is what Merlin faced and managed to banish, but he was too weak to banish them completely.  The ritual entails a blood sacrifice.  More specifically, the blood of parricide.”

 

“Parricide?” Harry asked.

 

“The killing of a close relative.”

 

Draco looked at her.  “Is there anything you don’t know?”

 

“I am a fount of knowledge,” Hermione responded.  “Anyway, there was also a passage that if the person casting the spell used their own blood or blood given willingly, then the effects of evil could be diminished.”  At their looks of confusion, she explained further, “Killing a family member in any culture is generally taboo.  Most religions talk of severe consequences in the afterlife of committing any form of parricide.  This opens the person up to evil.  Much like how when Riddle made the Horcruxes, he got more evil each time.  He was killing part of his soul.”

 

“Okay,” Harry said.  “That matches with what Merlin told us.”

 

“So, by using your own blood, you are taking on the responsibility of a Horseman, but leaving evil out of the equation.  By using, blood given freely, say from a relative that is dying anyway, then the taint on the soul is no more than casting the Killing Curse.”

 

“Why is this important?” Draco asked.

 

Hermione just quirked an eyebrow at him.  “In order to defeat something, you need to know how it thinks.  Personally, I believe that whoever embodies death will be someone who willingly gave their own blood.  Death is neutral in any fight.  However, I am off topic a bit.  This is pertinent because Blaise and company are not natural Horsemen, so there are constraints onto their powers.  First, Blaise and company have to be Horsemen who choose this since there are likely four in existence.  Second, if even one of them did not commit parricide in cold blood, then all of their powers are slightly diminished. And third,” Hermione paused dramatically, wanting to draw out the suspense.

 

“Well?” Ginny finally asked.

 

“They had to call their powers during a total solar eclipse.   That means they are susceptible to eclipses, although it does not state whether this will be a positive or negative effect.”

 

“Still, it makes sense that for us to attack them.  We have to assume that the eclipse will have a negative effect, so hopefully we will have a better chance of defeating them,” Draco surmised.  “When is the next eclipse?”

 

“There is a partial solar eclipse on the thirty-first of May and a total lunar eclipse on the ninth of November,” Ginny responded to their amazement.  “What?  I like astrology.”

 

“So we have a fortnight to prepare,” Harry said grimly.  “I believe I should take that holiday that I’ve earned.”

 

The rest of the group looked at each other, knowing that they needed to spend every waking hour perfecting their control of the elements to hope at defeating the Horsemen and feeling the pressure begin to build as the fate of the world hung once again on their shoulders.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Astoria looked around the black room, unsure of what country she was in.  After Blaise had forced them to leave South Africa, they had been subject to so many Portkeys that she thought that she might have left some part of her behind.  She could feel the power within in her growing each day, as she recalled parts of her conversation with Valdis. 

 

What she didn’t know was that by accepting the power of Death, she had the power to break any magical bonds on her.  Truly, Blaise would have no hold on her.  She just had to defy him.  She watched as Blaise checked a parchment and nodded.

 

“We will stay here for a day and then we are moving again,” he instructed as he began to cast spells to make the dark room, illuminating it to show that it was barely as large as her closet in Malfoy Manor.  A few shots of light later and the room was partitioned into three separate areas.  “Astoria, follow me.”

 

She followed habitually into one of the walled off into a chamber, knowing what was coming up.  Blaise had been testy since Harry had discovered their base and he was fighting that control by punishing her in various ways.  She shut her mind down and retreated to the safe haven it where she never had met Blaise.

 

Several hours later, Astoria was deep in thought as she stared at the ceiling as Blaise slept beside her.  _I choose to protect life.  Valdis said that made a difference.  Stop,_ _Astoria_ _.  Think.  You know that Blaise is just itching for a confrontation.  Can I somehow manipulate him into confronting Harry Potter before he’s ready?  Push him towards his eventual defeat?_

 

She sighed, wondering how exactly she was going to do that.  _I need more information.  I need to talk to Pansy alone.  Maybe I can suggest to Blaise that we need more supplies.  This place does seem to be more urban than the last one._   She felt Blaise shift beside her.  Calmly, she forced her thoughts back behind the strongest shield she could produce as he opened his eyes.

 

“When will we be leaving?” she asked timidly.

 

“That is none of your concern,” he responded.

 

“I would like a proper shower and possibly something to eat other than dried meat and nuts,” she dared to respond.  “Besides, it we are moving soon, would it not be wise to stock up on supplies?  We didn’t take a lot from the estate.”

 

Blaise looked thoughtful.  “You do have a point.  I’ll go out and get supplies shortly.”  He looked down at her and smiled.  “I have some other things on my mind right now,” he whispered as his hands began to move over her body seductively. 

 

She suppressed a shudder, but played her role.  “Anything for you, Master,” she said lowly, praying that his lust for blood had been sated.

 

~ **H~P~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is really a transitional chapter. Not a lot of action here, but there will be more next chapter! As always, thanks so much for the faves, follows and reviews.


	31. Good Versus Evil

Astoria crossed her fingers as Blaise prepared to leave to get supplies.  _Please take Greg with you.  Please take Greg with you,_ she prayed.

 

“Greg,” Blaise said.  “Come with me.”

 

Greg just nodded and stood to follow him.  Astoria breathed a sigh of relief.  She waited ten minutes after they had left before nodding to Pansy.  She sat next to the black haired woman on a transfigured sofa and said softly, “We have to find a way to lead him to Potter.”

 

Pansy nodded.  “I agree.  I wanted to leave something behind to trace, but with the way Blaise was checking the house, I knew that I couldn’t.”

 

“Do you know where we are?”

 

“I have no idea.”

 

“Is there a way for us to leave Potter a message?  I know that he is a good Auror and with getting so close to catching us, he is not going to let this go lightly.”

 

Pansy opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of an Apparation caused her to look up.  Greg ran into the room, his eyes wide.  “Pack now.  Pottyhead and Weasel spotted us at the market.  Blaise gave me this Portkey to get us out of here.  He said he would follow.”

 

Pansy and Astoria looked at him, pondering if they could overwhelm him and break free, but another pop made up their minds for them.  Quickly, they withdrew their wands and began to fire spells off to pack.

 

“We have five minutes at most,” Blaise said as he walked in, a look of fury on his face. 

 

Astoria swallowed hard as the look on his face sent chills down her spine.  Whatever the outcome, her night was not looking up.  She just nodded as light from his wand sped up the packing.  In two minutes, their temporary safe house was packed and they were all clutching a candlestick.  As the tug of the Portkey tugged behind her naval, she spared a small prayer that Harry Potter would once again save the world.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Harry was enjoying a Sunday lie-in when he heard the familiar stomping of feet on the stairs at Grimmauld Place.  He turned to see Ginny sleeping peacefully and quickly got up and threw on a dressing robe before slipping out of the room to see Ron bouncing up the final stairs in excitement.

 

“I found them,” Ron said breathlessly.

 

Harry felt his eyes widen.  “Really?  Where?”

 

“Bristol.  We picked up an unauthorised Portkey in that area.  Some Aurors were dispatched and they spotted Blaise Zabini and Gregory Goyle in a market.  They look like they are buying supplies.”

 

Harry nodded.  “Give me two minutes to get dressed,” he instructed before hurrying back into his room, only to find Ginny awake.  “We found them.  Ron and I are going to see if we can catch them.”

 

Ginny pushed her hair out of her face.  “Wait.  Shouldn’t Draco, Hermione and I go?  We are the only ones that can stop them.”

 

Harry shook his head.  “Let’s see if we can catch them this way.  I’d rather not send civilians in to this.”

 

Ginny narrowed her eyes.  “Harry Potter, you know what you were told.  Why are you being so thick-headed?”

 

Harry just shook his head as he tugged a jumper over his head and grabbed his robes.  “I’m going through the proper channels first.  If I do that, then whatever the fallout is, we are covered, Gin.  I’d rather not live a life on the run because the Ministry is scared that I’ve become a vigilante.”

 

Ginny let out a breath in exasperation.  “Fine.  Send your Patronus if you need help.”

 

Harry smiled as he gave her a quick kiss.  “I love you.”

 

“I love you, too.  Stay safe, Harry Potter.  I want to actually make it to a wedding.”

 

Harry smiled as he walked it out of the room.  He nodded to Ron and with two soft pops they disappeared.  They reappeared in a small office in Bristol, a city with a small Wizarding population.  The man dressed in Auror robes behind the desk nodded to them as they looked around.

 

“I’m Auror Frederickson.”

 

“Aurors Potter and Weasley,” Ron introduced.  “Are the subjects still in the market?”

 

“Yes.  I am going to take you there, so if you will hold on for a side-along,” he instructed as he walked around the desk.   Harry and Ron grasped his arm lightly as he whisked them away to the market.  They arrived behind a building, but Auror Fredrickson stopped them.  “Are these men dangerous?”

 

Harry nodded, his eyes serious.  “Very much so.  We hope for a peaceful apprehension, but there is a very high possibility that this will become very violent in a very short time.  These men will not hesitate to use the Killing Curse or any other Dark Magic in order to escape.”

 

The Auror nodded.  “Understood.  Follow me.”  Harry and Ron followed the man as he led them through a veritable maze of small pathways, until they arrived at a small stall where a non-descript brown-haired man standing.  Auror Fredrickson turned.  “This is Auror Farrow.  He’s the best I have.  David, these are Aurors Potter and Weasley.” 

 

The brown haired man nodded.  “They are in that building over there.  It is a store that specialises in food that has been preserved.  I have been following them for a few minutes and they seem to be buying supplies.”

 

At that moment, Blaise and Greg walked out of the store.  Blaise scanned the crowd out of habit and spotted his rivals.  Quickly, he turned to Greg, muttering instructions and they split up.  As Blaise surmised, Harry and Ron immediately began to follow him, considering him the biggest threat.  He led them around the market, giving Greg a few precious minutes to warn Pansy and Astoria.  When he felt like he had given them enough time, he turned and smiled directly at Harry and he unleashed his power.  “I do believe Exmoor is lovely this time of year, Potter.  Maybe I will see you there soon,” he said smugly before Apparating away.

 

Harry and Ron looked at each other as he disappeared, until the sounds of shouting broke their concentration.  They turned in unison to see every witch and wizard in the immediate area throwing down their purchases and pulling out their wands.  Harry watched in amazement as Ron and the two Bristol Aurors joined in the fights, instead of trying to stop them and felt a rage rise in him.  He quickly realised what was happening.  _So, Blaise embodies War._   He struggled against his instinct to fight, feeling the flames rising in him in protest.  Focusing on the flames, he felt the rage recede and instead he began to shoot binding spells.

 

He shot spell after spell, choosing the ones that knocked the recipient unconscious, and then binding them with magical ropes.  Soon, the fighting was down to two.  Ron and himself.   “Ron! Stop.  Fight it,” he called out, dodging the red light of the spells being shot at him.  He shot stunners back, but Ron was very familiar with his style of fighting and managed to dodge them. 

 

Finally, Harry tried out a move he had been practicing.  He tucked and did a front roll, coming to a rest right in front of Ron and quickly shot out a stunning spell before looking around at the amount of bodies lying stunned on the ground.  Thankfully, most of them were stunned, but he did see a few lying in pools of blood.  “Well, this is bloody wonderful,” he muttered as he prepared to send a Patronus to the Bristol Auror’s office.

 

Once his stag sped off, he cast another Patronus, this one to Hermione, letting her know what had happened and that he would be bringing Ron to St. Mungo’s.  Only a few minutes had passed when Aurors from Bristol began to Apparate in.  He quickly informed them of the situation (leaving out the part about the Horsemen and instead saying that Blaise had someone created a new spell) and was relieved when they didn’t question why he wasn’t affected.  _Huh, I guess being the Boy-That-Lived-to-Defeat-Voldemort does have its strong points.  They all assume that’s the reason I wasn’t affected._

 

Once he was done filling them in, he grabbed the still unconscious Ron and Apparated to St. Mungo’s, unsurprised to find Hermione waiting for him.

 

“What happened?” she instructed as she pulled them into an examination room and began casting diagnostic spells. 

 

He filled her in quickly about tracking Blaise.  “Before Blaise Apparated away, I felt a great wave of power roll off of him and everyone started fighting.  Hermione, I think Blaise is War.”

 

Hermione hummed, her brow furrowed as she cast another series of spells, this time concentration on Ron’s head.  “Oh, this is not good,” she muttered.

 

“What?!”

 

Hermione sighed.  “I think Blaise somehow changed the chemical balance in his brain.  Hold on and stay here.  If Ron awakens, stun him back to unconsciousness.”

 

Harry swallowed thickly before nodding.  He began to pace around the room, running his hands through his already messy hair as he waited for her to come back.  Five minutes passed, then ten and she still didn’t return.  After another fifteen minutes, he looked over at Ron to see his hands twitching slightly, and he gripped his wand.  Thankfully, Hermione walked in a minute before and with a swish, two flicks and a slash later, Ron was once again still. 

 

“Mione?  What’s wrong,” he asked once he got a good look at her face.

 

“I just got off a Floo call with Bristol’s hospital.  It’s bad, Harry.  They awoke the stunned patients before running brain scans and they were just as murderous as before.  Three people were killed in the hospital before they managed to stun the people again.  Whatever Blaise did, it chemically altered their brains for basically destruction.  There is no reasoning with their rational side.  They just want to kill.”

 

“Bloody hell,” Harry murmured.  “Can you fix it?”

 

“I don’t know.  Bristol is transferring all of the patients here, so we will at least have a selection to go on.  We’ll work around the clock for a cure, but it may be that the only cure is to kill Blaise.  I hope that this compulsion they have will be severed with his death.”

 

Harry clenched his jaw and his eyes grew cold, looking like flecks of emeralds.  “Exmoor.  Blaise made a comment about that.  He wants me to find him; he wants to kill me.”

 

“Then we need to fight him there during the partial eclipse.  We need to end this,” Hermione said with a steely voice.  “Go get Draco and Ginny.  They were not aware that Ron was affected, so you will need to let the Weasleys know.  We need to find out how to send a message to Blaise and get him to fight us on the thirty-first of May.”

 

Harry nodded as he turned and silently left the room.

 

**~H~P~**

 

When Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place, exhaustion finally set in.  He staggered into the kitchen to find Ginny and Draco sitting at the table.

 

“Harry!” Ginny exclaimed as he collapsed into a chair.  “What happened?”

 

Harry shook his head.  “You can get the full story from Hermione later, I really don’t want to repeat everything again, but the short version is Ron and I got a tip about Blaise being in Bristol.  We went to apprehend him, but he eluded us.  Before he left, he used what I can only describe as his Horseman power and turned everyone on the street into murderers.”

 

“Merlin,” Ginny breathed.  As she processed what he had said, her eyes grew wide.  “Ron!”

 

Harry shook his head.  “Unconscious at St. Mungo’s.  Blaise somehow managed to chemically change his brain.  Until Hermione manages to find a cure, she’s going to have to keep him sedated.  Otherwise, he’ll go on a killing rampage.”

 

Ginny clasped her hands over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.  “I’ve….”

 

Harry nodded his head.  “Go to your Mum and Dad.  Fill them in on everything and go to the hospital.”

 

Ginny nodded as she flew out of the room.

 

Draco turned to Harry.  “It didn’t affect you, did it?”

 

“Yes and no.  I could feel the force of his power, and it did cause an urge for violence to rise in me, but I think my Elemental Power was too strong for whatever he did to take hold.”

 

“This means that we are truly only the ones that can defeat them,” Draco surmised.

 

“I believe so.  Draco, we’ve got to stop him.  Hermione doesn’t know if she can cure him.  She thinks that it may only be possible by killing Blaise.”

 

Draco’s eyes grew steely.  “Then let’s attack,” he spat out as he stood. 

 

“We need a plan,” Harry said calmly.  “Plus, I’m bloody exhausted right now and would be of no use in a fight.  The thirty-first.  We need to attack then.  Blaise told me where he’ll be, but how do we get him there on that specific day?”

 

Draco settled back into his chair.  “His House Elf.  I can have Willa take one of his Elves a message.  The House Elf bond allows all Elves to know where their masters are at all times.”

 

Harry nodded.  “Do it.  The thirty-first.  Ginny gave me information on the eclipse and we’ll need to fight at sunrise.”

 

Draco groaned.  “I hate getting up early.”

 

“Have him meet us at five a.m.,” Harry continued, his mind beginning to formulate a plan.

 

**~H~P~**

 

 

Four-thirty on the morning of the thirty-first of May found Draco, Hermione, Harry and Ginny standing around a clearing in a forest in Exmoor.  They had arrived early enough to have time before Blaise and the Horsemen showed up to get into place.  Basing his strategy on the elements, Harry had instructed everyone to take the side that represented their element.  Once the Horsemen arrived, they were going to simultaneously send binding charms, in hope that they would not end up having to fight. 

 

Harry nodded to them.  “Okay, if the binding charms don’t work…”

 

“They won’t,” Draco interrupted.  “We need to just kill them.”

 

Harry sighed.  “We have to see if we can take them without a fight first, but I do tend to agree with you.  If the binding charms don’t work, we fight.  Try to separate them and battle them one on one.  Be careful.  After what happened with Blaise, I don’t think that their powers will be effective against us, but there is no way to be certain.  Once they are here, I will create a ring of fire around the clearing.  That is our signal to attack.”

 

The group looked at each other and nodded as the sky began to lighten.  Without any other words, they quickly positioned themselves to await the arrival of the Horsemen.  They did not have to wait long.  Mere minutes after they were in position Blaise, Greg, Astoria and Pansy walked into the clearing.

 

Hermione studied their body language.  Blaise was clearly in charge with Greg following him, but Pansy and Astoria hung back.  _I wonder if Blaise treats them as inferiors since they are women,_ she wondered.  She let that thought retreat as the ring of fire leapt around them.  Red lights began to stream into the clearing as they shot off the stunners.  Hermione watched her stunner flew towards Pansy, mentally crossing her fingers that it would work.

 

As the red light hit the black-haired woman, she stumbled a bit, but remained standing, turning towards Hermione.  The rest of the group was having similar luck.  The stunners were having no effect.  Gritting her teeth, Hermione stepped into the predawn light, gripping her wand lightly as she approached the closest Horseman to her, Blaise.

 

He turned, a look of unholy glee coming over him as he saw her approached.  He mockingly saluted her before letting lose a wave of energy.

 

Hermione felt the energy hit her and as Harry described felt a rage rise in her, but it wasn’t able to grip her.  She smiled back as she felt the rage subside.  She shot a series of spells at him, more to distract him rather than actually try to subdue him.  She wanted him to be surprised when she actually retaliated.

 

He parried her spells easily, so Hermione decided to step it up a bit, to play into his belief that she was affected by his power.  Drawing on years of practice of showing a completely different emotion (namely not letting Ron and Harry know when she was truly angry with them), she let her face slowly contort in anger and began throwing spells haphazardly.   She saw the look on his face.  He thought he had her exactly where he wanted her as he began to throw spells back in earnest.

 

Hermione held in a smirk as the spells began to flow from his wand.  She cast a shield around her and spared a glance at the others while trying to formulate the best plan to disable him as the sun began to rise.  Harry was battling Pansy, who looked like she was for focused on defence.  Ginny was battling Astoria, who also looked like she was more focused on defending herself, but Draco was fighting strenuously with Greg, whose level of fighting seemed far superior than what she remembered.  Suddenly a blue stream of light barely missed her head and she focused back on the battle.

 

Blaise felt a jolt of power rush through him as the eclipsed sun rose.  Smiling, he channelled the extra energy and began to throw spells in earnest.

 

Draco was too busy to spare a glance around.  _Goyle isn’t this good,_ he thought as he dodged spells, both by shielding and by physically moving out of the way.  _I should not be having the problem defeating him that I am.  What in bloody Merlin’s name is going on?_   He ducked again as a stunner flew past him and suppressed a growl. 

 

Greg heard the growl and laughed.  “I’m your better now, Malfoy,” he taunted. 

 

Draco just sneered.  “You will _never_ be my better, Goyle,” he shot back along with a series of spells, holding back on his elemental power since they did not want to show their cards unless there was no other way to win.  One of his spells got through Greg’s defences and the Horseman winced as a slash appeared on his arm.

 

Greg’s only response was a look a fury and a wave of energy rolling off of him.

 

Draco felt the energy hit him, a sick feeling rising and then ebbing within him.  With a smirk, he through himself back into the battle.

 

Both Harry and Ginny were puzzled at their battles.  Yes, both Pansy and Astoria were blocking their spells, but other than a few minor spells (none of them harmful or life threatening) to distract them, neither woman was trying to overpower them.  With the low threat, Harry had time to glace around.  He noticed Draco and Goyle fighting in earnest, stunned at the ferocity and accuracy Goyle was displaying with his wand.  _So their magic has been boosted by the ritual,_ he surmised.  Draco seemed to be holding his own, so he focused his attention on Hermione and Blaise. 

 

Shock hit him as he saw how fast the spells were flying, the air was awash with different colours.  Hermione’s hair was flying around her as she parried each spells, but Harry watched in horror was a familiar green light flowed from Blaise’s wand.  “Hermione!” he yelled, switching is focus completely from Pansy.

 

“You’re good, Mudblood, but you will never defeat me!” Blaise yelled as the Killing Curse left his wand.

 

Hermione heard Harry’s yell and reacted instinctively.  A thick wall of earth erupted from the ground in front of her, absorbing the spell.  As the wall fell, she smirked at the dumbfounded look on Blaise’s face.

 

“And you were saying?” she retorted, stowing her wand and beginning to lob boulders at him.

 

Blaise dodged the massive stones as best he could, but his shielding was only going so far.  He heard shouts around him as Pansy, Astoria and Greg rushed to his side when a boulder got through his defences and slammed into his legs.  “We’ve got to get out of here,” Pansy said urgently as the wind began to whip around them.

 

Blaise just nodded, not knowing what was going on, but feeling pain begin to radiate from his legs up to his body. 

 

Pansy looked at Astoria.  “Grab Greg and Apparate back to the safe house.  I’ll bring Blaise,” she said urgently, grabbing the injured man’s arm.

 

The blonde nodded and seconds passed before two loud cracks reverberated in the clearing, leaving the rest of them stunned in the turn of events.

 

**~H~P~**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a nice long chapter for y’all. There truly was an eclipse on 31 May 2003. And it was visible in Exmoor, but only at sunrise. All that information I got from NASA’s website. Only 2 chapters and the epilogue after this! Thanks to everyone for all the faves, follows and reviews. They really make my day!


	32. Reassessment

As the Horsemen disappeared, Hermione looked at the rest of the group.  “Well, that was unexpected.”

 

Harry laughed.  “You are scary, Mione.  Brilliant, but scary.”

 

Hermione laughed.  “So you keep telling me.”

 

Draco walked over to her, to ensure that she was not hurt.  “You okay, love?”  She nodded, so he turned back to Harry and Ginny.  “They have definitely experienced an increase in magic from the ritual.  Trust me, Goyle has never been good enough to duel me to an impasse.”

 

Harry nodded.  “I noticed that.”

 

“I noticed that Pansy and Astoria didn’t really seem like they wanted to fight us,” Ginny interjected.

“That _was_ barmy,” Harry responded.  “They were simply defending against us, not attacking like Goyle and Blaise were.”

 

“Maybe they finally realised what type of person Blaise was?”

 

“Now?” Draco asked incredulously.  “From what we learned from Merlin, I believe that Astoria knew what kind of person Blaise has become once she was instructed to kill Scorpius.”

 

“Perhaps that is what changed Pansy’s mind as well,” Ginny observed.  She looked at Draco.  “You know her better than any of us.  How she would react to the planned murder of a child?”

 

Draco thought for a moment.  “She was close with her parents and her siblings.  She had the kind of childhood that I dreamed about.  With a good home life, I don’t believe that she would react favourably to the notion of purposely killing a child.”

 

“So, their loyalties are divided.  Astoria is bound to protect Blaise because of the slave-bond, but if she doesn’t want to that means she’ll only do the minimal amount without a direct order from him,” Hermione observed.  “Now, we just need to figure out exactly how to attack them.”  She sighed.  “We need more information on the Horseman.  I wonder if Merlin can be convinced to impart some of his knowledge.”

 

Harry shrugged.  “He reminds me of Dumbledore.  He will only give us the necessary knowledge, but won’t give us a plan to attack.  Have you completely read the book he gave you, Mione?”

 

“No.  I haven’t read beyond getting our Elemental Powers.  I shall do that once back at Grimmauld.  Hopefully, it will grant some insight into defeating them.”

 

“Do that,” Harry instructed.  “Draco, I want to know everything you know about those four.  Ginny, write down everything that we encountered today.”

 

Ginny raised an eyebrow as she began to giggle.  “You sound like Hermione,” she said between giggles.

 

Harry chuckled.  “After all of these years, I guess she has rubbed off on me.  After all, she is the one that kept me alive all those years ago with her planning.”

 

Hermione just smirked as she turned to leave Apparate back to the house.  “I’ll be in the library.”

 

**~H~P~**

 

“What in Merlin’s name just happened,” Blaise growled as soon as they appeared in their safe house.

 

Astoria and Pansy looked at each other and shrugged.

 

Greg smiled.  “Did you see how I duelled against Draco?  I was gaining ground on him,” he boasted.

 

Blaise glared at them.  “No, I was a little busy throwing spells against a wall of earth that Granger conjured.  What kind of spell can do that?”  With no response, he growled.  “Fine.  Pansy, study the books.  I want to know what kind of spells that the know-it-all has managed to find.  Goyle, yes you are more powerful, but your duelling is sloppy.  Practice.  Astoria, follow me.”

 

Astoria cringed, knowing that he was about to take out his considerable rage on her, but the lack of pull on the slave bound, heartened her.  She thought about it and wondered what it meant and debated on whether or not she should make a stand.  Finally, deciding that it was best if Blaise was not aware that her compulsion was gone for now.  _I can defect when it will do the most harm,_ she promised herself before meekly following him, hoping her acting skills were up to par.

 

Pansy watched as her friend followed Blaise out of the room, more of an entry hall.  The house Blaise had found and rented from a group of Muggles was larger than she had thought possible without magic.  It was two stories, with marble accents.  The ground floor boasted a spacious kitchen, formal dining room, drawing room and library.  Four spacious bedrooms made up the second floor. 

 

As Blaise and Astoria climbed the stairs, she made her way into the library and drew out all of the books that they had managed to bring with them.  She knew that the answer was more than likely in the book that Blaise had gotten the ritual from, but she wanted to delay the discovery of what powers Hermione had tapped into to prevent the Killing Curse from hitting her.  Sighing, she opened the first book and began to read.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Hermione shut Merlin’s book with reluctance.  Her surmise had been correct.  After the chapters that were dedicated to the ritual to call forth their Elemental Powers, the book was dedicated to the Horseman.  Unfortunately, the information was sparse.  Merlin had never discovered the source of their powers, hazarding a guess that they had either made a deal with a demon or found a way to cancel the morality of the human conscious.

 

He had made some strides into finding the limitations on their powers.  It seemed as if their powers were unparallel as long as they were dedicated to each other, but if even one of them broke ranks, it would be like unravelling a knitted scarf.  That little fact had surprised her and made her contemplate if half the battle in defeating them would be to split them up.

 

It was in that mood that Harry found her.

 

“You look serious,” Harry commented as he set a cup of tea in front of her.

 

“Just contemplative.  There is not much information in the book, but enough that I believe that we will be able to defeat them,” she returned whilst smothering a yawn.  “What time is it?”

 

“Half three,” Harry responded.  “Why don’t you go take a nap?  I know that Ginny had a lie-down and I would assume that Draco did.  He did mention something about going back to the Manor.  He said he would be back in time for dinner.”

 

“I’m fine.  I really need to go check on Ron.”

 

Harry just gave her a look.  “Mione, got get some sleep.  You can check on Ron later.”

 

Hermione looked at him, see a familiar stubborn glint in his eyes and signed.  “All right,” she conceded.  “I’ll check on Ron after dinner.”

 

Harry watched as she walked out of the room, shaking his head slightly.  _Some things never change.  She’s always been stubborn._   He glanced down at the sheaf of parchment that she had been writing notes on, to see if he could read through them before the meeting, but the letters written down didn’t make sense to him.  Shrugging, he left the room, deciding to go the Ministry to see if there was anything urgent to work on.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Draco stared around his childhood room, still decorated with Wizarding Posters of the Irish National Quidditch team.  The players in the posters zoomed around on their brooms, in and out of the frame, but he was oblivious to him.  Instead, he was staring at the contents of his school trunk spread on the bed before him.  He smiled as he looked at the mementos that he had uncovered.  His old Quidditch robes lay near the head of his bed, but what caught his attention were the photos of his former friends.  Blaise and him in the common room, Pansy at the Yule ball, Greg and Vincent eating in the Great Hall.

 

He shook his head.  _What happened?  How did we all change so much?_   Sighing, he grabbed a piece of parchment and began to write down all the information he knew about them and Astoria, hoping that it would help him defeat them.

 

He wrote for hours, putting down everything that he had ever learned or experienced with his former friends.  By the time the sun began to sink below the horizon, his hand was cramped, but he felt a sense of accomplishment at the wealth of information that had poured out of him.  He knew some of what he had written down would have no bearing on the fight to defeat them, but he could see when the changes had begun occurring in each of them.  Blaise had begun pulling away from him after fourth year, Goyle after the Fiendfyre incident, Pansy once they graduated and Astoria almost immediately after the wedding service.

 

He couldn’t help but wonder if there was anything he could have done to change anything.  _No point in thinking about that; I can’t change the past and if I hadn’t married_ _Astoria_ _, I wouldn’t have Scorpius.  Merlin, I can’t wait to hold him in my arms again._   Sighing, he gathered up his supplies and got ready to Apparate to Grimmauld Place for dinner.

 

When he arrived at the house, he found it quiet and Harry sitting in an armchair by a fire in the library.  Harry nodded to a chair as Draco walked in.  “Can I get you a drink?” Harry asked as he rose.

 

“Firewhiskey, please,” Draco said as he settled in the chair.  “Where are the girls?”

 

Harry chuckled.  “Asleep.  Hermione was in her study mode, so once she was done, I coerced her into taking a nap.  Ginny crashed an hour or so before her,” he replied as he handed Draco a glass.

 

Draco looked at him as he swirled the amber liquid in the tumbler.  “So, dinner?”

 

Harry just raised an eyebrow.  “I can cook, you know.  My aunt and uncle made sure of that.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Harry just shrugged as he related his life before finding out he was a wizard, causing Draco’s expression to range from disturbed to barely restraining laughter as Harry related how Hagrid had given Dudley a pig’s tail.

 

“Truly?  Hagrid did that?  I have so much more respect for him now,” Draco said, then sighed.  “I really feel like I have to apologise on how much of an arse I was in school.”

 

“Apology already accepted and you’ve been forgiven,” Harry said instantly.  “So, we got sidetracked and I really don’t feel like cooking.  What about some take away?  There’s this great little Chinese place not so far from here that both girls love.”

 

Draco thought about it.  “Sounds good,” he said, settling the now empty glass down and rising from the chair.

 

“Kreacher?”

 

“Yes, Master?” the elf said as he popped into the room.

 

“We are going to grab some Chinese take away for dinner, but can you sort out dessert?”

 

The elf looked offended.  “Of course, Master,” he said with a sniff before popping out of the room.

 

Harry sighed.  “I’m always offending him,” he muttered.

 

Draco chuckled.  “It is all about how you address him.  Kreacher is very different from Dobby.  Dobby was an anomaly amongst the Elves.”  Draco sighed.  “I’ll admit that my family probably is what made him that way.  My father, well you know that he wasn’t a nice man.  He used to treat the Elves horribly and Dobby was more strong willed than most.”

 

Harry nodded as he began to walk to the door, not surprised by what he was hearing.  “So how do you suggest that I proceed?”

 

“Treat him with courtesy and know that he only wants to make your life easier.  You already know that he can cook and cook well, so instead of asking can he do something, which implies that you don’t believe he can, ask him if he will do something for you.”

 

“Huh,” Harry mused as they walked out the door.  “Such a small change.”

 

“He will appreciate it.”

 

Harry lapsed into silence as they walked, thinking about the advice that Draco had given him.  _You know it’s true.  You would have given Dobby the same courtesy.  Maybe, just maybe Potter, you should leave behind the old prejudices that you have formed._   He continued to think along those lines until they arrived back at Grimmauld and set the food out.

 

“Kreacher?”

 

“Yes, Master,” the Elf said as he popped into the room, looking at the boxes of take away in disgust. 

 

“Are Hermione and Ginny awake?”

 

“They awoke shortly after you left.”

 

“Thank you.  Will you please let them know that the food is ready?”

 

“As you wish.”

 

Harry just nodded as the Elf left only to hear the sounds of the girls walking down the stairs in mere minutes.

 

Both of them looked more rested after their respective naps and greeted their partners with soft kisses.

 

“You shouldn’t have let me sleep so late,” Ginny said, but with no reproach in her voice.

 

Hermione snorted.  “Sure, Ginny.  I for one am glad that I slept so late.  I feel much better now and I think my dreams might have been instructive.”

 

“Do tell, love,” Draco drawled.

 

Hermione smiled.  “Oh, I will, but I’m ravenous now and want to eat first.”

 

Harry nodded and began to open the containers of take away.  “Let’s start with Ginny then.  Did you discover anything when you went over the battle?”

 

Ginny nodded as she spooned some steamed rice onto her plate.  “Yes.  They have all gained in magical power, but it most noticeable with Goyle.  I studied my memories in the Pensieve as well.  Blaise was shocked, furious and confused when you made the earth wall, Hermione.  They obviously don’t know about our powers.”

 

“Blaise won’t even think that elemental powers are a possibility,” Draco interjected.  “He’s Pureblood, but he is more broad minded than most.  I wouldn’t believe in elemental powers if I had not been gifted with them.”

 

“So is this lack of knowledge good or bad?”

 

Draco shrugged while putting a bit of chicken in his mouth.  He thought while he chewed and then continued.  “It could be both.  Good because that make us an unknown to them, bad because when he figures it out, he will make it his mission to destroy us.”

 

“I think we need to fight them more with our powers than with normal spells,” Ginny said thoughtfully.  “I mean, there is a reason we were granted them and it makes the most sense to me that we need to use them to defeat them.”

 

“You’re right, Gin.  I studied the book that Merlin gave us and whilst there was not a lot of information there, there was enough to make some suppositions.  One thing I did learn is that to be at their complete powers, all four of them have to work in harmony.”

 

Harry raised an eyebrow.  “So, if Astoria and Pansy are having second thoughts then that is going to impact their powers.”

 

“Bloody hell,” Draco breathed.  “Imagine what Goyle would be like at full strength?”

 

They all sat in shock for a moment whilst the image of the dim-witted man having that kind of power washed over them.

 

“So what is the key to their defeat?”

 

Hermione sighed.  “The book wasn’t clear to the point, but I think who we were duelling against today is not correct.  The book is very clear that each element must duel against the Horseman of the same alignment, but without knowing who has what powers I have no clue how to figure that out.”  She pushed her food around the plate a little more.  “I did have a dream while napping.  I think that the best time to defeat them is during a total lunar eclipse.”

 

“It makes sense,” Draco said.  “After all, they gained their powers during a solar eclipse and we gained ours during a lunar one.  If we are truly opposing forces it would mean a boost in power for us, whilst a drop in one from them.”

 

Harry sighed.  “So, more research.  Yay.”

 

Hermione giggled.  “Don’t worry about it Harry.  I think Draco and I can handle the majority of it.  Now, I know that Kreacher has probably made the most fabulous dessert that I’ve ever dreamed of, so can we please move on to more pleasant topics?”

 

In agreement, they settled back to enjoy their dessert.

 

**~H~P~**

 

Pansy stared at the book she was reading in shock and wondered if she finally had gone mad.  In the two days since the battle, she had poured over every book that they had gathered before giving up.  Taking a chance, she had smuggled herself in her parents house and copied as many books as she dared and brought them back.  When she had gone through the books that she had grabbed, she wondered why she had grabbed an ancient book of faerie tales, but read it anyway.  Now, she had her answer, and she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do about it.

 

“Pansy?  Did you find something?” Blaise said from the doorway. 

 

She studied the man, noticing that he seemed much calmer after taking out the majority of his anger on Astoria.  She drew a careful breath.  “I think so, but it’s wild.  I don’t even know if I believe it or if I’m just really knackered and mad.”

 

“Tell me,” he instructed her, his voice velvet covered steel.

 

“What if Hermione is an Earth Elemental?  It would explain why she was able to raise the wall of earth with no effect.  There was no magical drain, Blaise.”

 

Blaise scoffed.  “I think you need some rest, Pansy.  There are no Elemental magics.”

 

“Not that we know of, but Blaise we know, there used to be.  We learned that much in the History of Magic.  What if the magic was lying dormant?”

 

Blaise started to scoff again and then furrowed his brow.  “I must think on this,” he said sharply as he turned on his heel and left.

 

 _Yes, I think you do,_ Pansy thought as another thought entered her head.  _That book you have states that the only power strong enough to beat the Horsemen is Elemental._

 

 

**~H~P~**

 

When Hermione walked into Ron’s hospital room, she was unsurprised to find Luna sitting by his bedside, chattering to him as if he was awake.  “Hey, Luna.”

 

“Hermione, good evening.   The nargles are especially thick around you this evening.”

 

Hermione, used to Luna’s off the wall comments after so many years, nodded.  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

 

“Oh, definitely good.  It means they are helping you solve a problem.  Your aura is much clearer as well.  It has transmuted to the green of the earth.  You’ve embraced your powers.”

 

“How…” Hermione trailed off as she shook her head.  “You know?”

 

“Of course,” Luna replied airily.  “You control the earth, whilst Draco controls air.  Opposites attract.  Where you are weak, he is strong and vice versa.  The same thing goes with Harry and Ginny.  The aura around a witch or wizard can tell me so many things.”

 

Hermione’s eyes widened as her brain raced through the possibilities.  “Luna, is it possible for you to see an aura if you are not looking at the actual witch or wizard?  If you are looking at an image of them in a picture or a memory?”

 

Luna cocked her head to the side.  “Picture no.  The figleites that identify an aura don’t like cameras so they flee at the sight of them, however a memory would be sufficient.”

 

Hermione ignored the unfamiliar word that the blonde was using to describe whatever fantastical beast that she believed helped her to read an aura and instead smiled.  “Good.  Could you come by Grimmauld tomorrow?  I need your help.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Hermione just nodded as she ran her diagnostic spells over Ron.  “No changes, damn.”

 

“That’s okay, Hermione.  I have foreseen that you will defeat this enemy and Ron will become Ron again.  The time is not right.”

 

Hermione shook her head, always amazed at how the woman could be so flighty, but accepting and absolutely confident that there would always be a happy ending.  “Thank you for your vote of confidence.

 

Luna just smiled as Hermione left.

 

It was late by the time Hermione reached Grimmauld, but she was not unsurprised to find Harry, Ginny and Draco awake.  After their respective naps, sleep would come late for the quartet. 

 

“How’s Ron?” Harry asked when he saw her walk in.

 

“The same.  I think that the only cure for him and the others will have to be due to Blaise.”

 

Draco nodded.  “Either he will have to reverse what he has done or hopefully it will end with his death.”

 

The group looked sombre at his pronouncement.  Ginny shrugged.  “I for one, would like this to end with his death, but we have some news on that front.”

 

Hermione just raised an eyebrow.

 

“The next total lunar eclipse is not until the ninth of November, but it will be visible over Europe.”

 

“So we have four months to prepare,” Hermione stated.  “We’ve done more with less.  We can do this.  Blaise cannot be allowed to continue this and we need to force him to meet us somewhere where there are not any other people around.”

 

Harry nodded.  “Yes.  We also need more time to figure out who is who.  We know from Merlin that Astoria is Death.  I thought back to my experience with Blaise, and after discussing it with these two here, I’m pretty confident that he is War.”

 

“It makes sense.  You would be in the same alignment as War, controlling Fire.  Which would be the reason that is inspired rage couldn’t take hold on you,” Hermione returned.  “I think that we if show Luna some memories of the battle, she might be able to tell us who the others are.  She told me tonight that she knows what element that each of us is.”

 

“Looney Lovegood?” Draco asked incredulous.

 

“Luna has a…unique way of seeing the world,” Ginny said.  “She sees more than anyone and even if her advice is unique, it is usually worth taking.”

 

Draco just nodded slowly, clearly not believing her. 

 

“It can’t hurt to ask,” Harry said.

 

“Good.  She’ll be here tomorrow,” she replied with a cheeky smile as the clock chimed midnight.  “Actually, later today.”

 

“We should get some sleep,” Draco said.  “We can go into full research mode tomorrow.”

 

They nodded before retiring for the night.

 

**~H~P~**

 

When Luna arrived the following evening, she smiled.  “It is nice to see that you have all embraced your powers.”

 

“Thank you, Luna,” Ginny replied.  “We have Dumbledore’s Pensieve set up in the Library for you to observe the battle that we had.”

 

“Can you give me any details of what you wish to find?”

 

“No,” Draco said shortly, earning himself a glare from Hermione.

 

“We want to see what you see, without any undue influence,” Hermione explained.

 

“All right,” Luna said dreamily as she walked towards the library.  “We’ll eat afterwards.  I’ve discovered that eating before viewing memories in a Pensieve upsets the philityloops in the digestive track.”

 

Draco covered a snort, while the rest of them trailed after the blonde with a smile. 

 

Luna came to a stop in front of the Pensieve, watching the memories swirl in the bowl in fascination.  She could tell that each of them had put their own memories in there and to her practiced eye she could tell which memory was from each person.  They glowed with the colour of their aura.  Without hesitation, she reached out and touched the memory that was silver, knowing it was from Draco and let herself be pulled into it.  She watched in fascination at the fight between Draco and his former friend, the colours of their auras of silver and white bouncing off each other violently.  Once done, she moved on to the second memory, then the third and the final one.  When she finally emerged from the Pensieve, her mind was swirling with all the information that she discovered.  “Well, that was unexpected,” she said cheerily. 

 

“What was?” Hermione asked.

 

Luna just smiled.  “I think we should have supper first,” she said and then refused to answer a single question.  Needless to say, it was the shortest supper in the history of suppers.

 

They retired back to the library with tea and looked at Luna.  She just smiled enigmatically. 

 

“Well?” Draco finally said.

 

“I was able to see the auras of the four you fought.  I believe that you have already surmised what is going on with Blaise, so you will not be surprised that his aura was a fiery red.  Gregory’s aura was white, which is not common amongst wizards.  It is more common amongst witches.  Pansy’s was black and Astoria was a pale green.  Although Pansy’s was much less pronounced and Astoria’s aura was much more pronounced than either Blaise or Gregory’s.  I’m not sure what that could indicate.  I trust this helps?”

 

Hermione nodded as she grabbed her handwritten notes.  “Yes it does.  I have this here somewhere.  Where is the bloody hell did I put that?” she muttered to herself.

 

“Put what, love?” Draco asked.

 

“What horses each of the horsemen rode,” she said as she began to scanning her parchment.  “Oh!  Here it is!  _And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.  And I saw, and behold a white horse:  and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crow was given unto him:  and he went forth conquering and to conquer.  And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.  And there went out another horse that was red:  and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another:  and there was given unto him a great sword.  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see.  And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the win.  And when he had opened the fourth sea, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.  And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.  And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with a sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth._ ”

 

“Um, that’s great Hermione, but what in Merlin’s name does that mean?” Harry asked.

 

Hermione laughed.  “Sorry, I had to write the verses down exactly as they were in the Bible in case it became important to what was happening.  After doing further research, I found some information that the first, on the white horse, represented Pestilence; the second, on the red horse, represented War; the third on the black horse, represented Famine and the forth on the pale horse—or pale green horse as it was sometime interpreted—obviously is labelled as Death.  It makes sense for them to be in that order.”

 

“Of course,” Draco said.  “Pestilence or disease might lead to War since by nature humans are going to fight against disease.  War leads to Famine as resources are spent on that and Famine leads to Death.”

 

“Okay, so how does that help us?”

 

“It’s easy,” Luna said.  “As long as you can read an aura, you can always tell which cardinal point that person is aligned with.”

 

“So?  What is the verdict, Luna?” Hermione said.

 

“Gregory is aligned with the west, as are you, Ginny.  Pansy with the north, like you Hermione.  Astoria the east, like Draco and Blaise the south, like you Harry.”

 

The four of them nodded.  “Now we know who we are going to have to fight against,” Harry began, “we should start getting a strategy in place.”

 

“Oh, you can do it Harry.  After all, after fighting Tom, this should be easy.  Now, I must got and check on Ronald.  If I leave him too long, the nargles seem to pester him,” Luna said as she rose.

 

“Thank you, Luna,” Hermione said as the blonde walked out of the room.  “You don’t know how much we appreciate this.”

 

“Oh, I do and you will rise to this challenge,” Luna said serenely as she left.

 

The group just smiled, each feeling a bit of hope at the woman’s faith in them.

 

**~H~P~**

Pansy and Astoria were both on edge.  Once Blaise had dismissed Astoria from his chambers, Pansy had quickly filled her in on the discovery that she had made.  They were currently lying side by side on Pansy’s bed.

 

“What do you mean they are Elementals?” Astoria whispered.

 

“Just what it sounds like,” Pansy whispered back.  “That is the only possible explanation for why Granger was able to throw up a wall of earth to protect herself from the killing spell.”  She grew silent for a moment.  “I also discovered that Elemental powers are the only powers strong enough to beat the Horsemen.”

 

“Merlin, this is too much to take.  It’s like we’re in a tale.”

 

“I know.  The only thing I can do is try to look like I’m fighting, but really not.  Hopefully, Blaise will be too engrossed in his fight to notice.  You know that he is not going to let this go.  He’s gone from being just barmy to being truly insane.”

 

Astoria shuddered.  “Don’t remind me.  At least the compulsion to obey him is gone.  I just have to keep up the appearance until the time is right.”

 

Pansy looked over the younger woman critically.  “How are you doing?  Is he taking a lot out on you?”

 

Astoria shrugged.  “No more than usual, which means he is not truly worried,” she said before yawning.  “I’m knackered.”

 

Pansy smiled as she gave her friend a quick hug.  “Get some sleep then.  I don’t know how Blaise will react when he finds the information in his book about being susceptible to the Elemental powers.  He would overreact or he could just blow it off.  I’m leaning towards him blowing it off.  I don’t think he will believe that the group is a threat.”

 

“Thanks, Pans.  For everything.  No matter what the outcome of this battle is, I know that my son will be alive and safe because of you,” Astoria whispered before Pansy climbed out of the bed and slipped out the door. 

 

Astoria extinguished the lights and fell into a fitful sleep.

 

The next few days passed calmly.  Astoria kept waiting for Blaise to say something about the group, but other than him grumbling about Granger, he said nothing.  It was like he was completely ignoring what Pansy had told him.  Astoria and Pansy kept out of his way, as Goyle lazed around the house.  Blaise had made himself scarce, leaving early in the morning and returning long after sundown.  He wasn’t even leaving Astoria alone.  That in itself was enough to worry the two women.

 

Finally, the tension broke a week after the initial battle.  Blaise burst into the sitting room, radiating excitement.  “Group meeting, now,” he said, looking around the room.  “Where’s Greg?”

 

“Kitchen,” Pansy replied as she turned around.  “You found something?”

 

“Possibly.  Astoria, go get Greg.”

 

Astoria nodded and immediately went to the kitchen.  “Greg, Blaise wants us.  He said he found something.”

 

Greg nodded as he stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and walked to the door.  Once they reached the room, Astoria made her way to the sofa as settled next to Pansy, who looked at Blaise expectedly. 

 

“Due to Pansy’s research, I now believe that Potter and company have somehow found spells to control the elements.  I did some further research into what the spells would be and have come to the conclusion that the best time would be to fight them in a total eclipse.  Solar or lunar, it doesn’t matter.  The next total eclipse is on the ninth of November.  I have found some counter spells to harnessing the elements, so we have roughly four months to prepare for this.  We need to draw them to a location of my choosing, for if we defeat them, nothing will stand in our way to total world domination.”  He withdrew four rolls of parchment and handed them out.  “Each of you will need to learn and perfect these spells.”

 

They stared at him in confusion as he strode out of the room, Greg following behind, eager to learn something to put Potter in his place.

 

“Well, that was interesting,” Pansy muttered.  “And a complete load of shit, too.”

 

“He’s setting us up to fail so that he can rule the world,” Astoria whispered.  “We need to go through the motions, Pansy.”

 

Pansy nodded.  “I know.  Merlin help us.”

**~H~P~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Bible verse is Revelation 6:3 (the King James Version). I have no beta, so if you see any mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them! 2 chapters left! They will be up Monday and Wednesday of next week. On a side note, I am doing Camp NaNoWriMo in July, so anyone looking for a fun challenge, you should do it! The difference between Camp and normal is the ability to choose your word count and you are also assigned a “cabin” so you can get encouragement! Y’all should try it! As always, thanks for all the faves, follows and reviews!


	33. The Final Battle

The morning of 9 November 2003 was by all appearances a normal day, except for eight people who knew that the fate of the world would be decided.  Harry, Hermione, Draco and Ginny awoke with resolve filling them.  For Harry and Hermione, the day brought back how they felt the day that Harry defeated Voldemort.  Ginny and Draco were more nervous than the other two, but both knew that they could accomplish their mission.  Blaise and Greg awoke with a feeling of excitement, each feeling confident that nothing could defeat them, but Pansy and Astoria were having great misgivings.  The two women knew that no matter the consequences, they would help the four Elementals defeat the other two Horsemen.  Both had made peace with their lives and were willing to lay them down if necessary to keep Blaise from ultimate power.  Astoria had written a letter for Scorpius to read when he came of age, detailing how much she loved him and no matter the outcome of this day, she was acting with his best interests at heart.

 

Whilst sitting over breakfast, Blaise’s most loyal House Elf, Duggy, arrived.  “Master Zabini,” he greeted Blaise with a deep bow.

 

“Yes, Duggy?”

 

“Message from Master Malfoy.  He states to meet him on the Orkney Islands at eleven this evening.”

 

Blaise nodded to the servant.  “Please tell Mr. Malfoy that I accept his meeting place.”  Duggy bowed again before disappearing and Blaise turned back to the other.  “Today we will fulfil our destiny.  Prepare wisely.”

 

Across the country, at Grimmauld Place, the four Elementals held their breath as they waited for Willa to bring back the answer from Blaise’s Elf.  It had been close to an hour since Draco had called for her.  A loud crack caused them to jump as Willa winked into existence.  “Master,” she said.  “Master Zabini has accepted your meeting place.”

 

“Thank you, Willa.  I have one last request that I hope you can fulfil.  Scorpius is alive; however I am not sure where he is.  He was sent to safety by Pansy.  I hope that you can find out from the Parkinson Elves where she would send him.  If you can, please go to him and his caretaker and ensure that no matter the outcome of tonight’s activities that they are protected.”

 

“Of course, Master.  Willa will go right now.”

 

Once she was gone, Harry took a deep breath.  “I suggest that we each go over our final plans, then get some sleep.  We will need it.  From Hermione’s research, the peak of the eclipse will be around one a.m., so we will be in for a long fight.”

 

Hermione nodded.  “I will have some safe stimulants for us to ingest just prior to the battle.  They will not affect our powers, but will centre us more.  Everyone in agreement?”

 

At the nods all around, each went their separate ways.

 

**~H~P~**

At ten to eleven, Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Draco Apparated into a windswept moor in a remote area of the Orkney Islands.  Unlike their initial battle, the group chose not to fade into the landscape; instead they stood in the open with wands clasped gently between their fingers.   Draco and Hermione stood side by side, leaning into each other. 

 

“Are you ready?” Hermione asked lowly.

 

Draco drew a breath.  “I think so.  I just find it unbelievable that I am facing former friends to save the world.  What about you?”

 

Hermione smiled softly.  “I’m an old hand at this.  This is bringing back memories of the Battle of Hogwarts.  If I can battle Bellatrix Lestrange at the age of seventeen, then I have high hopes of being just as successful now.”

 

“What about Harry and Ginny?”

 

“Draco, we’ve been fighting dark magic since we were eleven.  This is our life.  If anyone in this world is prepared for this, then we are.”

 

“Point,” he said as loud cracks of Apparation sounded.  He looked at Hermione briefly, knowing that he might fall in the battle to save the world.  “I love you,” he said softly as he brushed her cheek.

 

Hermione’s smile lit up the clearing.  “I love you, too,” she returned just as softly as she leaned into his touch.  “Let’s do this.”

 

As one the four of them turned to face the Horsemen, each coming to rest ten yards in front of their chosen enemy.

 

“Ah, Draco.  Good of you to join us.  I do regret had had to become of young Scorpius, but his death was necessary to cleanse the world of the plague of the unworthy.”

 

Draco raised an eyebrow as he looked at his former friends.  “After all we have lived through, you choose this, Blaise?  Why do you think that any witch or wizard of this generation…the generation who stood toe to toe with Voldemort…will allow you to do this?  This is the once chance you have to surrender.”

 

Blaise laugh manically.  “Never.  It is my destiny that I am choosing to fulfil.”

 

“Then I no longer consider you a friend, and we will all die to prevent you from harming more people.”

 

“You were dead the moment you defied Lord Voldemort,” Blaise shot back as he raised his wand and a fiery red light shot out of his wand. 

 

Harry lifted his hand and a wall of fire erupted between Draco and Blaise.  “Hey, Blaise.  Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

 

Blaise laughed.  “The great Harry Potter.  The-Boy-Who-Lived-And-Became-A-Pain-In-Everyone’s-Arse.  Fine.  You want to fight, bring it on.”

 

Harry just nodded as he threw a wall of fire at Blaise and their duel began.

 

Without a warning, Ginny conjured a wall of water and flung it toward Goyle, whilst Hermione caused the ground beneath Pansy to quake and crack.  Draco looked at Astoria, who drew a breath as he pointed his wand at Astoria, but something in her eyes stopped him.  “Astoria?  You don’t have to do this,” he said quietly.

 

She glanced at Blaise, who was engrossed in his battle with Harry, cackling with glee.  “I don’t want to, Draco.  I’m sorry for what I’ve done…what I was forced to do, but I refuse to fight you.”

 

He lowered his wand.  “Then don’t.”

 

She walked towards Hermione, looking at her, seeing the subtle shift of Draco into a more protective stance.  “Granger?  Pansy won’t fight you.  This is not what either of us wanted.”

 

Hermione looked at Pansy, who didn’t have her wand raised.  “Is that true, Parkinson?”  The black-haired woman nodded, so Hermione dropped her spell and turned to Draco, motioning for Astoria and Pansy to join him.  She looked at the two women.  “Tell me everything quickly.  The more we know, the faster we can defeat Blaise.”

 

Astoria nodded.  “Blaise put a slave spell on me.  He made me shag Goyle with the intentions of you finding out, Draco.”

 

Draco nodded.  “We figured that part out, Astoria.  Well, Hermione did.  What we want to know is about your powers.”

 

“It was a spell and potion combination,” Pansy interjected.  “We consumed the potion during a total solar eclipse and it brought us each a power of one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  He got the spell from an old book, but he mistranslated part of it.  He assumed that the only way to enforce the spell was to kill a blood relative, but I made a copy and discovered that it was either that or use your own blood.”

 

“And using your own blood made would make you more powerful.  You truly became the Horsemen that you were meant to,” Hermione said.  “We got this information from a…reliable source.  We need to know how to defeat him.”

 

Both women shook their heads.  “We don’t know.  I found out that only Elemental magic is strong enough to defeat the Horsemen, but the book never explained why.  For some reason, though, Blaise did not find that as particularly worrisome.”

 

Hermione looked at Draco.  “You’ve known him the longest.  What do you think that means?”

 

Draco furrowed his brows.  “It means he is either really overconfident or he discovered something to give him an advantage.”

 

“I honestly believe it is the second, Draco,” Astoria said as a loud explosion rocked the air.  The four of them turned to see Harry flying through the air to land hard on the ground, not moving.

 

“NO!!!!” Ginny screamed, leaving herself open to a well placed slicing hex from Goyle and she crumbled.

 

Blaise turned and brandished his wand toward Pansy and Astoria.  “Did you truly believe that I did not know of your treachery Pansy?  Did you believe that I was an idiot that didn’t have charms on my book?  Charms that I know that you and your underwhelming talent would have no idea of?  Please,” he sneered before turning his gaze on Astoria.  “We will discuss your disobedience later, Astoria, but come here now.”

 

Astoria’s eyes grew hard.  “No.  I am no longer your slave, Blaise.  I haven’t been since I fully accepted my power.  You see, I didn’t kill Scorpius.  I love my son too much to use him in that way and you didn’t order me to.  So, he is alive and well right now.  I used my own blood, which caused my potion to be far more potent and I am more powerful that you,” she shot back watching in glee as his eyes widened in shock, but then a dark look crossed his face.

 

“You will be mine, Astoria.  You will bear my heirs and I will destroy you when I’m done with you.”

 

“I look forward to your effort, Blaise, but I am no longer terrified of you,” she said as she dodged a blast of red light from him. 

 

“You must do better than that,” she taunted him.

 

With a growl he sent a barrage of black light at her that she was unable to dodge, and she sank to the ground, unconscious.   Blaise turned his attention back to Pansy.  “Your services are no longer required.”  Red light began to swirl around him as he began to chant something in a language that none of them knew.  Pansy felt a dizziness come over her as a wave of black light was siphoned off of her towards Blaise.  She fell to the ground once the light was gone, her strength sapped.

 

Hermione paid her no heed as she raced towards Ginny, quickly throwing a wall of earth between her and Goyle and one between Harry and Blaise.  She sank to the ground next to Ginny, quickly casting healing spells and watched the skin knit up and breathed as sigh of relief as Ginny stirred.  She reached into her beaded bag and withdrew a blood replenishing potion and quickly poured it in Ginny’s mouth.

 

“Blaise!” Pansy cried out weakly.  “What are you doing?”

 

He laughed.  “You will get your comeuppance.  You don’t deserve the power of a Horseman.  None of you do.  Whilst I set you to bothersome tricks to distract you by the Elemental powers that are so far beneath us, I learned how to take the Horseman powers for my own use.  I no longer need anyone else.”

 

Draco watched as white light began to flow off Greg and knew that he had to awaken Harry to continue the fight.  It truly was going to take all of them working together to defeat his former best friend.  He darted over to where Harry was beginning to stir and felt relief flow through him as the man seemed to be unharmed, if just a little sluggish.  “Are you all right?” he said lowly to keep from attracting Blaise’s attention.

 

Harry shook his head.  “Just a little stunned.”

 

“Good.  Blaise is taking the powers of the Horsemen for himself, so…”

 

“Bugger.”  Harry stood, swaying a bit on his feet before squaring his shoulders.  He nodded to Hermione, who was supporting Ginny as she stood and took a look.  Astoria was lying crumpled on the ground, unmoving.  Both Pansy and Goyle were slumped on their hands and knees and black and white light moved from them to Blaise.  “Well, this is certainly a hash,” he muttered as the two women arrived at their side.

 

Blaise snarled as the light finally stopped flowing from the other two and he returned his focus to Astoria.  He uttered some more words, flinging his hand at her.  Hermione reacted quickly, raising an earth wall.  Blaise raised his wand and the earth shattered into dust as he turned his gaze to the Elementals.  “Nice try, Granger, but I’m more powerful that you could even dream of becoming.”  Another wave of his hand a red light flew at her. 

 

“No!” Harry shouted as a ring of fire encircled the Horseman.  “We have to fight him together.  All of the elements.”

 

Draco nodded as he flung a vortex of air at the flames, turning the circle into a fire tornado.  The flames licked fifty feet into the air as Hermione build a wall around it to contain the heat.   Suddenly, Blaise rose into the air above the flames, laughing. 

 

“It that all you have?  Pathetic!  Weak!”

 

Not to be deterred, Ginny opened a geyser underneath him, knocking him from the sky.  He fell, only to rise with manic gleam in his eyes and power shimmering around him. Each of them drew a deep breath, knowing that whatever Blaise had chanted, it had caused his magical power to increase dramatically.  An untold amount of time passed as the five battled fiercely, the Elementals throwing everything they had at him. 

 

Blaise mostly countered with spells, but as the duel continued on, he began to access the Horseman powers.  He concentrated on using Goyle’s powers, knowing that his would be the most successful in a fight and plagues of flies and gnats flew towards them. 

 

Harry and Draco parried those easily.  Draco just called upon the wind to sweep them away from them, whilst Harry simply set them on fire.

 

Then a multitude of frogs being hopping into the clearing.  Ginny smiled as she washed them away with water.  “Frogs?” she said in confusion.

 

“I’ll explain later,” Hermione said as she dodged another beam of emerald light.

 

Ginny just shrugged as she glanced up at the sky.  “Harry!  The eclipse is starting!” she yelled as she dove out of the way of a rock that Blaise had deflected at her.

 

Pansy managed to look up at the battle, her strength completely sapped.  Still, she gritted her teeth and managed to crawl to where Astoria lay.  “Astoria?” Pansy groaned weakly.  “Come on, you must wake up.  You can do this.  Do this for Scorpius.  Potter and company are at a standstill.”  She cast a weak Enervate at the woman, surprised when she began to move.  “Astoria?”

 

“Merlin, I feel like I’ve been hit by the Knight Bus.”

 

Pansy knew she had no time to waste, understanding that Blaise was pulling her life force from her.  “Blaise is pulling the power from us.  Our life force.  He’s killing us slowly.  The only way to stop his power is to kill us.  You’re Death.  You have to do it.”

 

Astoria looked at the woman.  “Pans?  You’re my friend.  I can’t…”

 

“You must.  It’s the only way to defeat him.”

 

“I can’t.”

 

“Yes, you can.  I would rather pay for my sins at your hands than in Azkaban.  Please.  I can feel it.  He’s tied our life force with his.  That is where he is getting his power from.  He will drain us to the point of death, but without your powers, he can’t actually kill us without using a spell and he’s a little distracted at this point.”  She looked at Astoria.  “Please, end this.  Save the world, Astoria.”

 

Astoria looked at her, tears welling up in her eyes.  “All right.  I’ll do it.”  She looked at the battle in progress.  She closed her eyes and felt for the power simmering within her.  She could feel it rising as she accepted.  A sense of rightness filled her and she felt a heavy cloak settle around her shoulders like a shroud.  She looked down to find it was pale green and made of velvet, but the weight was negligible.  It was like wearing silk or gossamer.  A sense of calm came over her as she walked towards Greg, seeing the sins in his soul and knowing that she was in control of his judgement.  When she stopped beside the unconscious man, she let loose her power and watched with detachment as his life drained from him and his body shuddered in his death.  Sighing, she made her way to Pansy and sank beside her.  “Pans?  Are you sure?”

 

“Do it and be free, Astoria,” Pansy muttered weakly, her eyes rolling back in her head as she lost consciousness.

 

Quickly, with remorse filling her heart, she let loose her power again and then wept as Pansy breathed her last breath.  The remorse quickly turned to anger as she stood.  “Stop attacking him,” she growled with rage in her voice.  “I’m his judge and executioner.”

 

The Elementals stopped, feeling the waves of magic coming off of the woman as she glided towards Blaise, surprise showing on his face.  “Blaise Antonio Zabini.  You are accused of wilfully accepting darkness into your life.  Homicide, patricide, corruption.  You sought out power beyond your control to control those you though weak and inferior.  What say you?”

 

“It is my right to prove my merit to those pathetic mortals.”

 

“Then it is my right to bring your death,” Astoria said back as she flung both hands towards him, green lighting rushing out of her and towards him.  He tried to raise a shield, but the power just moved through it.  “Arrogant mortal.  You’re powers are nothing compared to mine.”

 

The Elementals watched in awe as the light circled him, causing him to stiffen and open is mouth in a silent scream before dropping to the ground.  Astoria just smirked as she looked at his motionless body before turning back to Draco.  As she opened her mouth, a shockwave of pure power washed over them.  The only one to remain standing was Astoria and she turned to the epicentre of the wave and found a black shrouded figure, looking much like a Dementor, standing there.  A pale hand rose and pushed back the cowl of the black robe and revealed a beautiful man with shoulder length black hair.  She knew at once who it was and kneeled.

 

“Rise, my Angel of Death.  You will bow to no one,” he said with humour dancing in his eyes.  He turned to look at the other group.  “Good, the Elemental magic is no longer bound in this plane.”

 

Harry looked at the man.  “Who are you?”

 

“I have many names.  The Egyptians called me Anubis.  The Celts called me Donn.  I have always preferred Hades.”

 

“The God of the Underworld,” Hermione breathed.

 

“A little simplistic, but yes, that will do, Ms. Granger.”  He turned back to Pansy.  “It has been a long time since I’ve run across anyone who wanted to control the power of death for compassion and not power, so I have an offer for you.  Think carefully about this.  I have missed having a queen by my side.  Would you consider that position?

 

Astoria felt the blood drain from her face in shock.  “Why me?”

 

“Compassion and the love you have for humanity.  Everyone else who seeks to control death only thinks of themselves and not what that power could mean.  You choose your power by sparing a life.  You would make a fine and just ruler of the underworld.”

 

Astoria fell silent for a moment, glancing at the other four.  With her powers fully awakened, she could see the love and friendship that bound the four of them together and knew that she would only grow jealous of Hermione if she stayed in their lives.  Finally, she nodded.  “Yes.  I will do it.”  She turned to the group.  “Draco, Scorpius is in Upsir, Iceland under the care of Valdis Amundsen.  She was Pansy’s nanny growing up.  Harry, with Blaise’s death, whatever he did to Weas…” she stopped and then continued, “Ron was reversed.  Hermione, treat my son as your own.  If he is mistreated, then you will know my wrath.”

 

They nodded in shocked agreement as she turned and walked to Hades.  “I’m ready.”

 

Another wave of power poured over the group and the bodies of Blaise, Greg and Pansy disappeared as Hades took Astoria’s hand and kissed it softly.  Then they, too, were gone.

 

**~H~P~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you go. The penultimate chapter. I have no idea why Hades showed up, but he just decided that he wanted to be there. Much love goes out to my best friend, who really kicked my butt when she read the first draft of this chapter. Her words (paraphrased), “I expected more.” PrincessG, I hope this meets your expectations! All that is left is the epilogue! Thanks for all the faves, follows and reviews! They have really helped. And a special thanks to all the readers that stuck with me through the massive time between updates. You guys are the best!


	34. Epilogue

The first stop that the Elementals made was to St. Mungo’s.  They walked into Ron’s room, to find the man awake with Luna twined around him like a vine.  Hermione smiled as she quickly ran her tests and discovered that his brain chemistry was back to normal.  “Well, Ron.  You are back to your old self,” she proclaimed.

 

“Ronald awoke and all the nargals just left him alone,” Luna said as she turned to look at them.

 

“How long have I been out?”

 

“Close to five months,” Harry answered.

 

“Blimey.  When can I get out of here, Mione?”

 

Hermione rolled her eyes.  “A few days.  Your muscles have somewhat atrophied from lack of use, so you will have to perform some physical therapy and take an array of potions to get your muscles back in working condition.”

 

Ginny wiped her eyes a bit.  “Has anyone told Mum and Dad?”

 

“I sent an owl, Ginny,” Luna said as a commotion began outside of the room.

 

“I am going to see my son!” Molly Weasley yelled.

 

Hermione sighed while Ron cringed.  “I’ll get her,” the brunette offered and quickly left only to walk back in a few seconds later and push everyone out of the path to the bed.

 

“My Ron!  My baby, you are finally awake!” Molly said shrilly as she ran into the room and quickly wrapped Ron in her arms, almost knocking Luna off the bed in the process.  “I’m sorry, Luna dear.”

 

“Oh, that’s okay Mrs. Weasley.  I understand your joy at having Ronald back.”

 

Harry quickly motioned his hands to Ginny, knowing that the Weasley matriarch had not noticed them yet and they began to creep towards the door. 

 

“Don’t move one more inch Harry and Ginerva,” Molly said without turning her head.

 

The two of them froze in place, identical looks of resignation on their faces.

 

Molly fussed over Ron for a few more minutes before turning her gaze on the other four people.  “Hermione, Draco.  Nice to see you, dears.  Ginerva, you had better explain what is going on.  The clock has had the three of you in mortal peril all night.”

 

Harry, Hermione and Ginny cringed.  They had forgotten about the Weasley’s clock (which now featured Hermione as an honorary member).  “Molly,” Hermione said.  “Let me begin.  Harry needs to go back to the Auror office and make his report.”

 

She sniffed.  “Fine.  Harry can leave, but the rest of you are staying,” she said as she sank into the lone chair in the room.

 

Hermione nodded as Harry gave her a quick smile before making his escape.  She quickly conjured three more chairs and began to relate the story.  She watched Molly’s face as she began with the kidnapping of Scorpius and continued to the unmasking and finally the defeat of the Four Horsemen, gasping loudly as she revealed their relation to Merlin.

 

“Oh my word,” the older witch said as she finished the tale.  “So, are they really gone?”

 

“Yes, Molly.  They are truly defeated.  Now, if you will allow us to go to get our rest, you can ask us all the questions you want once we’ve sleep.  Draco must go and collect Scorpius as well.”

 

“Oh, of course dear!  I must go and let the rest of the family know as well,” Molly said before wrapping each of them in a warm hug, causing both women to suppress giggles as Draco flinched.

 

Once she was gone, Ginny turned to Hermione.  “You are the most fabulous person in the world.  There is no one else that has the ability to head off a scolding from Molly Weasley like you do.”

 

Hermione shrugged and said, “It’s a gift really.  But, I was also truthful.  We need sleep and then we need to go collect Scorpius.”

 

Draco nodded, the adrenaline from the battle beginning to wear off.  “I’m knackered.  Hermione, would you like to come back to the Manor?”

 

Hermione nodded and together they left the room, only to see Harry heading back towards them.  “Go home and take Ginny with you,” Hermione suggested as they walked by.

 

Harry just nodded wearily.

 

“Are you ready, love?” Draco asked as he leaned down to nuzzle her hair.

 

“Yes.  Are you okay?  I know that they all were your friends.”

 

“I am, really.  Pansy and Astoria’s hearts were not in it and I barely recognized Blaise and Greg.  They weren’t my friends.  My friends died a long time ago.”

 

Hermione nodded as she wrapped her arms around him and Apparated them to Malfoy Manor, where after a quick wash, they fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.

 

It was the calling of birds outside that finally awoke the pair, well into the afternoon.  Stretching like a cat, Hermione slowly opened her eyes, to find Draco blinking the sleep from his.  “Hey,” she said softly as she turned on her side.

 

“Hey,” he said back, drawing her to his chest.  “We should get up.”

 

“Uh-uh.  I wanna lie in bed.”

 

Draco giggled.  “I promise, we will have a proper lie-in soon, but…”

 

“You really want to get Scorpius back.  Understood, love,” Hermione returned as she slipped out of his grasp.  “Do you still have that shampoo that I left over here?”

 

“No.  The Elves took offence to it.  They replaced it.”

 

“Bugger.  Do you know how long and hard I looked to find a shampoo that would actually make my hair behave?”

 

Draco laughed, the tension of the previous year sliding off of him finally.  “Trust the Elves.  If they brought it to you, it will make your old shampoo look like soap.  I’ll have Willa bring up some food and once we’re done eating, we can leave.”

 

Hermione nodded as she quickly slipped into the en-suite.  She turned on the shower, knowing as much as she wanted a proper bath, that she would not delay the father-son reunion.  She quickly washed herself and then grabbed the shampoo reluctantly.  She had not been exaggerating when she had told Draco that it had taken her a long time to find the perfect shampoo.  It took years, trying both Muggle and Wizarding products before she had finally settled down and she was hesitant to try anything else.  With trepidation, she worked the shampoo into her hair and was amazed by the result.  She could feel her locks getting silkier and more manageable and by the time she rinsed, she knew that she didn’t have to use any conditioner.  _Amazing._

 

She walked back into the bedroom, to find Draco sitting at a small table with a brunch spread in front of him.  He was perusing the _Daily Prophet,_ scoffing as he read the articles.  “Anything interesting?”

 

“Not really.  No mention of anything out of the ordinary last night.  I can’t decide if that is good or bad.  There was only a small footnote about the patients awaking at St. Mungo’s.”

 

Hermione pursed her lips as she sat and placed some fruit and toast on her plate.  “I think that is good thing.  Imagine how it would be if we were found out.”  She shuddered.  “Thank Merlin Rita Skeeter is no longer in the picture.”

 

Draco shuddered as well.  “That woman is a cow,” he said as he placed the paper to the side and served himself some eggs.

 

They ate quickly and silently, both feeling apprehension at the upcoming reunion and once done, Draco took a few minutes to clean up as well.  When he walked out of the bathroom, Hermione felt a jolt of passion run through her.  This was the Draco Malfoy she remembered.  The poised, immaculately dressed businessman who was ready to take on the world and all the naysayers in it to prove that he had changed for the better.  And he had.  Hermione had come to realise that in the past year.  The Draco Malfoy that she had gone to school with was gone and in his place was man that had captured both her heart and mind. 

 

“Wow,” she breathed.  “I love you.”

 

Draco smiled, seeing the awestruck look in her eyes.  “I love you, too.  I cannot imagine my life without you,” he murmured into her hair as he wrapped her in a hug.

 

Hermione took a deep breath.  “Let’s go get your son back.”

 

Draco just smiled as guided her to the table, where a ceramic pig rested.  “Here, Pott…I mean Harry, sent this over.  It’s a Portkey to Upsir, Iceland.”  He quickly helped Hermione into her cloak before putting his own on.  He waved his hand over the pig, saying the last part of the incantation to activate the Portkey.  They grabbed the pig at the same time and both felt the familiar tug behind their navels.  In a swirl of light, they landed in a snow covered paradise.

 

“Wow.  It’s beautiful here,” Hermione said as she looked around.

 

Draco nodded as he grabbed her hand and began to pull her into the small town, craning his head around, trying to get a glimpse of Scorpius.  Half a block later, he stopped and stared in amazement at the sight of his son in front of him.  “He’s grown so much,” he whispered, his heart breaking at the time that he missed growing up.

 

Hermione looked at the boy, the spiting image of Draco and smiled.  “Well, what are you waiting for?  Go get your son.”

 

Draco dropped her hand and broke into a run.  Scorpius turned at the sound of his running footsteps.  “Daddy!” the boy yelled in joy, running towards him.

 

Hermione watched the reunion with tears glittering in her eyes as man and boy embraced eat other. 

 

“It is good to see them back together,” a voice said beside her.

 

Hermione turned, to see Astoria standing there, her blonde hair shining in the sun.  “Yes, it is.  Thank you.”

 

Astoria smiled.  “It is I who owes the thanks.  You were able to save both of them.  I would have only been able to save one.”

 

Hermione shook her head.  “Do not underestimate yourself.  After all, you managed to acquire the attention of Hades.”

 

Astoria smiled softly.  “He is a good…man?  God?  I’m not exactly sure yet.  But, know this.  As long as you live, I will watch over the three of you.  Just care for them as much as you can for as long as you have.”  She looked one last time at the two men who were so important to her, before handing Hermione a sealed envelope.  “I must go now, but here is a letter for Scorpius to read when he comes of age.  I hope that he has not been scarred by this evilness that I brought upon him.”

 

Hermione nodded, daring to place her hand on the woman’s arm.  “Astoria, if I don’t do anything else, I will tell him how much his mother loved him and sacrificed for him.”

 

“Thank you,” she said as she faded away.

 

Hermione turned back to find Draco looking at her, his brows furrowed.  She walked over to him and shook her head when he opened his mouth.  “Why don’t you introduce us?” she said instead.  “It is time we move forward.”

 

Draco just nodded as he looked between the boy and the woman, knowing his life was complete.

 

**~H~P~**

 

_9 November 2004_

 

Astoria, now know best as Persephone, smiled at her husband of six months.  Hades was still handsome, being immortal as he was, but he was nothing like what she thought the ruler of the underworld would be like.  He was loving, sweet and had a scathing sense of humour.  As the pair walked up towards Hogwarts, cloaked in invisibility, he grasped her hand lightly.  “Thank you,” she murmured.

 

“For what, my love?” he asked.

 

“For coming to the surface to see this.”

 

He laughed.  “This is an occasion for the millennium.  How often do the three most powerful couples in the Wizarding world get married in the same ceremony?”

 

Astoria smiled, thankful that Hades was indulging and had allowed her to following Draco and his new friends throughout the last year.  She had watched whilst Scorpius had fallen in love with Hermione, already calling her Mum.  She could tell the woman had nothing but the best intentions for both Draco and her son, so she felt peace at not being able to see him.  Through her watchfulness of Scorpius, she had gotten a glimpse of the friendship of the Golden Trio and their partners and knew that they counted him as part of their family.

 

“My love, it is starting,” Hades said softly as he gestured towards raised podium where three men with blonde, red and black hair stood patiently. 

 

The sound of a harp began to waft through the air.  Hermione, Ginny and Luna began the short walk from the forest.

 

Astoria smiled as they reached their partners and the ceremony began.  As the promises were made, she turned back to her own husband.  “Let’s go home.”

 

He nodded as he opened the doorway to the underworld and they both walked through, neither looking behind, but ahead to their future together, confident that the lives they were leaving behind would be filled with laughter and joy.

 

**~H~P~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here it is. The final chapter. I started this story 3 years ago and took almost two of that off from writing. My many thanks go to everyone who read, followed, faved and reviewed. You truly have no idea how big a smile it put on my face to get those alerts. A special thanks goes out to my bff, PrincessG. She was instrumental in helping me work through the writer’s block and kicking me when necessary to rewrite (i.e. both this chapter and the last one). Please, if you want me to respond back to your review, login to leave a signed review so I can do that.
> 
> In additional news, I did leave this world open for sequels and one shots, so if you want to read something, let me know and I will work on it!


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